MSP Airport Approves $15 Minimum Wage For Thousands Of Workers

From the Minnesota Reformer:

By Max Nesterak

October 19, 2020

The Metropolitan Airports Commission unanimously approved a $15 an hour minimum wage on Monday after years of lobbying by workers and the Service Employees International Union.

Thousands of workers — mostly immigrants and people of color — will see their wages increase over the next two years, with the first pay hike coming on Jan. 1 to $13.25. The current minimum wage at the airport is $11 an hour.

“This has been a hard year. COVID has changed our world and taken so many people. George Floyd was murdered not far from here. We all are dealing with the uncertainty of what comes next. But today I’m glad to say we have some good news,” said Glen Brown, a wheelchair agent at MSP and member of SEIU Local 26, in a statement.

Workers will also see their pay continue to rise even after it reaches $15 an hour in July 2022; the Metropolitan Airports Commission approved annual cost-of-living adjustments.

The airline industry has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with ridership plummeting 95% at MSP Airport in March and only slightly recovering since.

The Commission delayed a vote on raising the minimum wage in April, reasoning the economic burden for airport businesses would be too great amid falling revenues and an uncertain future.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..