As Reported by Karl Evers-Hillstrom for The Hill
Labor unions representing airport service agents on Thursday urged the Biden administration to protect their members from abusive and violent travelers.
In a letter to Biden administration officials, the unions said that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s effort to crack down on assaults against flight crews does not extend protections to airport agents working at gate, ticket and reservation areas and other ground-based locations.
The groups said that airport police departments and local law enforcement have not received clear guidance from the federal government on how to respond to attacks on airport workers, allowing passengers to assault their members without recourse in some cases.
“These actions from the highest levels of government signal to our ground service members that their safety in the workplace is not a priority,” the unions wrote.
The Communications Workers of America, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Transport Workers Union of America, and Transportation Trades Department, which together represent tens of thousands of ground service agents, authored the letter.
The unions sent the letter to President Biden, Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
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