San Jose Airport Workers Demand Living Wage

On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, over 50 union workers from Municipal Employees’ Federation - American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (MEF-AFSCME) Local 101 and Unite Here Local 19, among others, and their allies rallied in front of San José Mineta International Airport to demand a fair deal from the city government and from the companies that operate in the airport.  While the airport and the city have economically benefited from the profitable rise in travel due to some of the FIFA World Cup games being hosted at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, workers have seen little benefit.  

“While the city of San Jose has a living wage, … [San Jose International Airport] is the only airport that does not have a living wage,” explained Lucila Ortiz from Working Partnerships USA. Since February 1, 2026, the city of San Jose has mandated that city contractors, like janitors and security staff, make at least $26.73 per hour depending on their benefits package. The city will use the Bay Area Consumer Price index to raise wages every July 1st, the same index the San José airport uses — but airport workers were excluded from the mandate. This has caused a lot of hardship for the workers as San Jose ranks among the top 0.1% of most expensive cities to live in globally and 4th most expensive city in California.

Union workers from MEF-AFSCME Local 101, Unite Here Local 19, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21, Teamsters Local 350, Teamsters Local 665, and the South Bay Labor Council along with Working Partnerships USA gathered in solidarity to demand contracts that include: a living wage; worker input on the adoption of artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technology; an end to last-minute layoffs, work hour reductions, and schedule changes; and to demand ICE not be allowed to operate at San Jose Airport. 

Workers wearing blue, green, and red union shirts marched to Terminal A of the airport, chanting, “What do we want? Fair wages!” and “whose airport?  Our airport!” At terminal A union members from Unite 19 and Local 101 spoke about their struggles to make ends meet as well as the lack of progress during negotiations.  Afterwards, the union members marched back, stopping to chant at the terminal doors and to pass out flyers of demands to travelers.

Unite Here Local 19, which represents the airport’s food service workers, has been in negotiations for a year with the city of San Jose and  companies that operate in the airport, like World Duty Free Group, Pacific Gateway Concessions, and LSG Skychief. So far both have refused to make necessary concessions. “The food service workers have been over a year on an expired contract,” said Sarah Julian, a representative from Unite Here Local 19. Julian further explained that the city contractors make $7.50 per hour more compared to the unionized workers of Local 19. This is despite the fact that both categories of workers live in the same city and deal with the same cost of living.

MEF-AFSCME Local 101 has been meeting with San Jose city officials on behalf of the airport workers since February, but the city has extended talks past the expiration of Local 101’s contract expiration on July 1st.  The city of San Jose has refused to budge from their insufficient 3% wage increase offer, an increase that does not meet rising costs of living for the airport workers who face a 2026 annual national inflation rate of 4.2%. Workers claim the high cost of living will inevitably force them to find other jobs in more affordable cities.

Ortiz emphasized that the airport workers are the ones who make the airport function.  Without them the airport would grind to a halt.  “Even if you [just] come through the airport, the people who work here are the people who make their trip easier. They are the ones giving them their all, and we should be fighting for them as well since they are the ones who make us safe,” said Ortiz.

When asked, Julian stated that the best way to support the unions in their fight is to demand the San Jose City council members and state representatives stand and advocate for the workers’ struggle.  Public support will be critical to the unions prevailing in their fight.