A final ground handling agent at Chicago O’Hare International Airport has reached a necessary labor agreement and will continue cargo operations, avoiding potential service interruptions for several cargo airlines.
The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) informed freighter operators Tuesday, January 11th, that cargo handler Swissport had signed an agreement with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) outlining the parameters for the union to conduct a membership drive. The advancement eliminates the possibility of a supply chain disruption.
Swissport Cargo, according to the two-sentence message, “is no longer at risk of license revocation on January 20.”
Alliance Ground International, another major airport service provider, agreed on Friday to allow the SEIU to visit its facilities and meet with employees. Worldwide Flight Services and the union reached an agreement much earlier.
As a condition of operating at the airport, the city of Chicago required airport service companies to sign labor peace agreements within 60 days of being approached by any union last summer. The contentious agreements, which are becoming more common in public contracts across the country as a means of improving worker conditions, require employers to be neutral during union organizing campaigns and unions to refrain from picketing, work stoppages, or other economic interference for an extended period.
The CDA warned 20 cargo airlines a month ago that if AGI and Swissport, which control roughly two-thirds of the cargo moving through O’Hare, did not comply by the end of business on Jan. 19, their licenses would be revoked. The notice urged them to consider other options.
Airlines and freight forwarders complained that switching vendors on such short notice was impossible, and some would have to suspend service until they could relocate to other handlers or airports.
