New Jersey-2014-ACR158-Amended

A Concurrent Resolution urging the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ¹and the South Jersey Transportation Authority¹ to increase the minimum wage for workers at the Atlantic City International Airport.

Whereas, Many workers at the Atlantic City International Airport earn the current State minimum wage of $8.25 per hour, or approximately $17,000 per year for a full-time worker, which includes the increase of $1.00 per hour in the State's minimum wage that has been in effect since January 1, 2014; and

Whereas, Despite this recent increase, workers who earn the minimum wage continue to struggle to cope with increases in their cost of living; and

Whereas, The federal minimum wage of $1.60 per hour in 1968 would be over $10.50 per hour today, when adjusted for inflation, if it had kept pace with the cost of living over the past 46 years; and

Whereas, New Jersey is a high cost state and research conducted by Legal Services of New Jersey indicates that a single person working full time and earning minimum wage would only earn half of the necessary funds to meet the "real cost of living"; and

Whereas, Legal Services of New Jersey further found that an adult with two school age children would need to earn approximately $57,000 to support a minimally adequate life budget, including: housing; health care; food; child care; and transportation in New Jersey; and

Whereas, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Board of Commissioners adopted a minimum wage policy for contract workers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports on April 23, 2014; and

Whereas, This new policy provides that contractors must pay an appropriate minimum wage to their workers with a dollar per hour increase as soon as practicable in 2014 for those earning $9 per hour or less and an increase to a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour in 2015; and

Whereas, The Board of Commissioners also called for the contractors to provide Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday and to develop plans for enhanced wages and benefits; and

Whereas, The policy was adopted because, according to the Port Authority, the benefits of a higher paid staff include: increased morale; improved customer service; lower worker turnover; and increased experience for those employees who handle vital security functions; and

Whereas, The ¹employees and contractors serving the¹ Atlantic City International Airport ¹[is also operated] are managed¹ by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey¹[, through a 15 year agreement with] and¹ the South Jersey Transportation Authority, the government agency that owns the airport; and

Whereas, Workers at the Atlantic City International Airport are not included in the new policy increasing the wages for workers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports; and

Whereas, Many workers at the Atlantic City International Airport are paid minimum wage, which is not sufficient to support a family, or even a single person, in this high cost State; and

Whereas, The Atlantic City International Airport employees should be treated equally to their North Jersey and New York counterparts and be paid a living wage; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

1. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is respectfully urged to include workers at the Atlantic City International Airport in the policy adopted on April 23, 2014, increasing the wage of contract workers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports.

¹2. The South Jersey Transportation Authority is respectfully urged to adopt a policy to increase the wage of contract workers at the Atlantic City International Airport to a wage equal to their counterparts at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports.¹

¹[2.] 3.¹ Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate to the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and each member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey appointed by the Governor of the State of New Jersey.

¹4. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Executive Director of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, and each member of the South Jersey Transportation Authority.¹