To: Governor Phil Murphy
Gov Christie: Don't stiff Newark Airport workers
Stop blocking a raise for low-wage Newark International Airport workers. The Port Authority gave workers at JFK and LaGuardia a raise—Newark workers deserve the same.
Why is this important?
My name is Demetrius DeBaise, and for the last five years I have worked as a baggage handler at Newark International. Every day I lift overweight bags for hours on end for just $8.25 an hour. The stress of trying to provide for my family on so little income has nearly broken me.
And now, Governor Chris Christie and his cronies in the Port Authority just blocked my raise.
This week the director of the NY/NJ Port Authority ordered raises for low-wage workers like me at JFK and LaGuardia airports. But Newark workers were left out. The reason? Chris Christie and his top person at the Port Authority refused to go along.
Christie’s cronies at the Port Authority punished an entire town by closing down bridge lanes. Now they are bullying me and my co-workers to protect the profits of major airlines.
Punishing working people while protecting the powerful is classic Chris Christie. This isn’t even the first time Governor Christie has tried to stop me from getting a raise. Last year he actually vetoed a minimum wage increase for New Jersey workers.
We want a wage that lets us pay the bills and support our families, and it’s not fair that we may be denied the raise other workers over the Hudson will get just because we’re unlucky enough to have Chris Christie as our Governor.