Minimum Wage Advocates Arrested At Boston Airport

Connor D. Wolf

Six minimum wage advocates were arrested Monday during a rally at Logan International Airport in Boston for refusing to comply with state police.

The protest was part of a national movement aimed at bringing attention to low-wage airport workers and a $15 minimum wage. State police were forced to take action after some protesters refused to disperse. An estimated 200 protesters entered the terminal after marching across the airport from the Boston subway system.

“State Police had been notified previously by protest organizers that several members of the group planned to defy dispersal orders and be arrested,” State Police Spokesman David Procopio told The Boston Globe. “The arrests were peaceful and orderly.”

Most of the protesters turned back the way they came after police order them to disperse. A small group ignored the order. Police gave them a few moments to comply before making the arrests.

The workers, for the most part, are employed by the airlines and not the airport. At the moment they make at least $11 an hour which is a dollar above the state minimum wage, according to the local affiliate of CBS News. Critics argue the wage is not enough compared to the cost of living in Boston.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ helped to organize the protest. Labor unions have been at the forefront of the $15 minimum wage push. The SEIU has helped fund the Fight for $15 movement. In the past year airports across the country have been criticized over what some claim are poverty wages. Airport workers across the country went on a hunger strike during the week of Thanksgiving this past year.

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