about the campaign

In 2004, the City’s airport began its “monster” project – renovating and creating a facility that will truly reflect the spirit, optimism and ingenuity of our community. But that beauty must not only be skin-deep – that commitment to quality must extend to those inside the buildings as well.

The City must ensure that employees at its airport are the best-trained, most capable employees possible – from wheelchair attendants to baggage handlers to security personnel. And we must assure that we can keep these exceptional employees – by paying them enough to assure they can thrive in this expensive area.

The community calls on the City to adopt a policy that assures a living wage and high job standards for employees at its airport.

• Applying a higher wage and public oversight will increase the retention and skills of employees at the City’s airport. Retention of skilled employees committed to ensuring public safety at the airport is highly desired by San Jose residents. A survey of several dozen employees at the airport indicated that 50% of employees earning a living wage had been employed at the airport for more than three years, compared to 6% or fewer of non-living wage employees. Perhaps more concerning, the survey revealed dramatic gaps in training among employees:

  From the Working Partnerships USA report Building A Better Airport.

  Our community clearly deserves better.

• Higher employment standards at regional airports are shown to have positive benefits for the community, the City and workers – with minimal impact on employers. A study of the application of living wage standards at SFO indicates that over 70% of employees received better wages, retention and employee satisfaction were increased, and the cost to employers was less than a penny on the dollar – occasionally made up for by savings from reduced turnover and higher productivity.
• In the County that now leads the nation in average wages, the City should never subsidize poverty level employment. With Santa Clara County recently passing New York County as the county with the nation’s highest wages, we must assure that jobs subsidized by the City allow employees to live successful, happy lives.

download materials

Download Working Partnerships' full report that makes the case for a living wage at the airport. Also available: a one-page summary of the campaign to distribute, and a report on the positive impact of living wage at San Francisco International Airport from experts at UC Berkeley.

contact the media

Let the media know that you support the workers at Mineta San Jose International Airport. Click the links below to send letters to the editors of these various media outlets.

Mercury News: E-mail your thoughts to letters@mercurynews.com. Requirements: 125 words or less; no attachments; include your name, address and daytime phone.

Resident newspapers (e.g., the Willow Glen Resident): Find the contact information for your local newspaper.

Times newspapers: Contact the community newspaper in Almaden Valley, Cambrian, Willow Glen, Blossom Valley or Evergreen.

The Wave

Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal