A whole lot of workers at Large Apple airports are in fixed concern for his or her lives because of disastrously unsafe working circumstances, based on a bombshell criticism.
Fed-up Alliance Floor Worldwide employees rallied outdoors John F. Kennedy Airport Friday to share horror tales about their time on the runway and tarmac service firm they declare has little regard for its workers.
“Each single day I come to work, questioning if I’m going to make it residence protected on the finish of my shift. A variety of the gear we use is previous, damaged down, and actually unsafe,” stated John Mosquera, who has labored as an AGI ramp agent with Frontier Airways at LGA for practically two years.
Mosquera, of the Bronx, advised the gang he handed out on the job throughout final summer season’s report warmth wave after he was compelled to load baggage into the unairconditioned stomach of a aircraft.
“No one ought to must danger their well being or their life simply to earn a small paycheck. All of us need to work with dignity and to make it residence to our household … No bag, no flight and no firm is value our lives.”
The rally comes one week after SEIU Native 32BJ filed two formal “bombshell” complaints with the Occupational Security and Well being Administration on behalf of 21 totally different AGI employees throughout JFK and LGA.
The employees, who usually are not a part of a union, lodged a litany of allegations in opposition to AGI, together with malfunctioning brakes, prevalent accidents, autos in disrepair, unsafe working circumstances, no mirrors on autos, lack of coaching and extra.
At JFK particularly, employees are routinely uncovered to fall hazards as excessive as 30 ft with none fall safety, the complaints allege.
At LGA, the staff are allegedly compelled to share protecting gear and face shields which might be hardly ever cleaned and are used for using airplane toilet tanks.
“AGI doesn’t care about employees; they care about cash. This winter was lengthy and brutal. My coworkers and I spent hours outdoors working in freezing temperatures. It didn’t matter if we had been chilly, drained, sick or exhausted. We nonetheless needed to present up and do the job as a result of we have now households relying on us,” stated Shadequia Mercer, who labored for AGI on the ramp and within the baggage room at LaGuardia with Spirit Airways for 2 years earlier than she was laid off final week.
Mercer claimed that AGI had little compassion for its employees when Spirit shut down, saying many are nonetheless left ready for his or her paychecks.
“Staff are nonetheless preventing to get the pay day without work that we already earned … folks with households, payments, youngsters, well being points, and obligations, individuals who need to be handled like human beings,” she stated.
The complaints come simply weeks after the AGI was named to the Nationwide Council for Occupational Security and Well being (COSH) “Soiled Dozen” listing of firms with important office security issues.
AGI landed on the listing due to damaged machines, due to accidents, due to soiled PPI, due to employees not getting educated but in addition due to excessive warmth hazard, based on Charlene Obernauer, the Government Director of the New York Committee for Occupational and Security Well being.
In April 2026, AGI was named to the Nationwide Council for Occupational Security and Well being “Soiled Dozen” listing of firms with important office security issues.
The corporate remains to be below a Nationwide Labor Relations Board investigation following a criticism by Garvey Barrett, a baggage handler with AGI at LGA, who stated he was suspended for asking for water throughout one of many hottest days of 2025.
“We’re at this time as a result of JFK and LaGuardia employees at AGI are actually preventing for the safety of their lives,” stated Manny Pastreich, the president of SEIU Native 32BJ.
“That is undoubtedly going to be a wake-up name at AGI as a result of office security is a precedence. As we speak is a serious milestone as a result of these bombshell allegations are going to be investigated.”
