Airport security staff vote to strike over bad working conditions
Around 200 private security officers at New York’s JFK Airport have voted to strike five days before Christmas.
The workers have accused their employer, Air Serv Corp, of failing to deal with "systemic lapses in security standards" and of intimidating them into keeping quiet about their poor working conditions.
They said they have to deal with "shoddy equipment, rushed searches and lack of training that endangers the flying public".
One officer, who is featured in a video on the union’s website, complained: "We are not provided the basic tools we need to keep passengers at the airport safe. Our backs are against the wall because Air Serv tells us to shut up. Don’t talk about how bad things are."
The officers are represented by Service Employees International Union and, at a meeting yesterday, voted to strike on December 20, the start of the busy holiday week.
A spokesman for Atlanta-based Air Serv said: "These issues have only just come to our attention this week. We are now in the process of reviewing them. As our policies make clear, we value employees’ input on matters of concern to them. Accordingly, we will be speaking with employees on these matters in the days and weeks to come."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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