Air Safety on the Cheap

They're responsible for airport security but contractors
still make poverty wages

By Nick Pinto 
Village Voice
Wednesday, Jan 4 2012

Prince Jackson's days usually go like this: He gets off
work at 6:30 in the morning, gets on the bus, and is home
by 7:30 a.m. This time of year, the sun is just rising
over Ozone Park as he opens the front gate of the house
where he lives and walks around to a back door that leads
down to the basement.

Jackson goes down a flight to the room he rents from the
family upstairs. The room is small--about seven feet by
eight feet--just enough space for his mattress, a
television, and a dresser. There aren't any windows. On
the wall is a picture of Jackson's son, a college student
he doesn't get to see very much. The family upstairs
charges Jackson $125 a week for the room, but in the past
year, he has fallen behind.

Jackson has something to eat and is asleep by 9 a.m. He'll
wake up around 3 and prepare a dinner to take to work.
Most of his meals come from the food pantry at his church,
where he volunteers. After he makes dinner, Jackson will
nap some more, or maybe watch TV. At 8 p.m., he'll get up,
shower, and put on his uniform. By 9, he's on Sutphin
Boulevard and waiting for the number 6 bus.

An hour later, Jackson is at work, at Delta's two
terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where
he's a security guard. Jackson makes sure no one enters
the gate area without passing through the Transportation
Security Administration screening checkpoints. He ensures
no one unauthorized exits the access doors to the tarmac.
He guards the employee entrance and makes sure only
properly accredited staff come in. He responds to alarms.
Charged with keeping the terminals safe, Jackson is an
integral part of aviation security at JFK.

He makes $8 an hour, doesn't get sick days, and doesn't
have health insurance.

for the rest of this article, go to
http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-01-04/news/airport-security-minimum-wage/

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