Los Angeles International Airport is the main gateway to the City of Los Angeles. Every year, millions of passengers travel to and from our city via LAX, which is the fifth busiest airport in the world. Thousands of Los Angeles residents work at the airport, doing everything from conducting searches of airplanes to assisting passengers with disabilities. For many visitors, these workers are among the first faces they see when they arrive in Los Angeles.

Despite the billions of dollars the city is spending to modernize the airport, thousands of these workers and their families lack even basic healthcare. Because their employers do not pay for family coverage, many of the workers and their families rely on government assistance or emergency rooms—or receive no care at all. Airport employees have already made sacrifices, including reduced hours and pay. These poor conditions result in high turnover rates at the airport, which compromises safety and service quality at LAX.

That’s why a coalition comprised of healthcare advocates, workers, community groups, labor and clergy have come together to fight for LAX workers’ right to healthcare. We recognize that when workers have access to healthcare, our airport remains secure, our communities’ health improves, and the strain on state and county public healthcare systems is eased.

As a public facility, LAX is owned by the people of the City of Los Angeles, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the airport is not a source of poverty and poor health.  That is why the coalition is working to gain support in City Council to increase the living wage ordinance’s healthcare allotment, which has not been updated since its passage over ten years ago.  By amending the living wage, we can provide for the workers who ensure the airport is safe for us all.