SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 136
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 15, 2014
Sponsored by:
Senator JIM WHELAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to increase the minimum wage for workers at Atlantic City airport.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to increase the minimum wage for workers at the Atlantic City International Airport.
Whereas, Many workers at the Atlantic City International Airport earn the current State minimum wage of $8.25 per hour, or approximately $17,000 per year for a full-time worker, which includes the increase of $1.00 per hour in the State's minimum wage that has been in effect since January 1, 2014; and
Whereas, Despite this recent increase, workers who earn the minimum wage continue to struggle to cope with increases in their cost of living; and
Whereas, The federal minimum wage of $1.60 per hour in 1968 would be over $10.50 per hour today, when adjusted for inflation, if it had kept pace with the cost of living over the past 46 years; and
Whereas, New Jersey is a high cost state and research conducted by Legal Services of New Jersey indicates that a single person working full time and earning minimum wage would only earn half of the necessary funds to meet the "real cost of living"; and
Whereas, Legal Services of New Jersey further found that an adult with two school age children would need to earn approximately $57,000 to support a minimally adequate life budget, including: housing; health care; food; child care; and transportation in New Jersey; and
Whereas, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Board of Commissioners adopted a minimum wage policy for contract workers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports on April 23, 2014; and
Whereas, This new policy provides that contractors must pay an appropriate minimum wage to their workers with a dollar per hour increase as soon as practicable in 2014 for those earning $9 per hour or less and an increase to a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour in 2015; and
Whereas, The Board of Commissioners also called for the contractors to provide Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday and to develop plans for enhanced wages and benefits; and
Whereas, The policy was adopted because, according to the Port Authority, the benefits of a higher paid staff include: increased morale; improved customer service; lower worker turnover; and increased experience for those employees who handle vital security functions; and
Whereas, The Atlantic City International Airport is also operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, through a 15 year agreement with the South Jersey Transportation Authority, the government agency that owns the airport; and
Whereas, Workers at the Atlantic City International Airport are not included in the new policy increasing the wages for workers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports; and
Whereas, Many workers at the Atlantic City International Airport are paid minimum wage, which is not sufficient to support a family, or even a single person, in this high cost State; and
Whereas, The Atlantic City International Airport employees should be treated equally to their North Jersey and New York counterparts and be paid a living wage; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):
1. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is respectfully urged to include workers at the Atlantic City International Airport in the policy adopted on April 23, 2014, increasing the wage of contract workers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and each member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey appointed by the Governor of the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution urges the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to include workers at the Atlantic City International Airport in the policy adopted by the Port Authority's Board of Commissioners on April 23, 2014.
This new policy provides that contractors must pay an appropriate minimum wage to their workers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports. The policy requires that contractors provide a dollar per hour increase as soon as practicable in 2014 for those earning $9 per hour or less and an increase to a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour in 2015.