My name is Henry Watts. I’ve been a skycap at LAX for 20 years. I provide service for Northwest Airlines.

I’m proud to have raised 4 children and been able to provide them with a decent standard of living. I was able to do that because, as a Skycap, I received tips from many passengers. I don’t know how I would have raised my family and provided for their schooling if things were the way they are now.

When the signs about the $2 fee first went up, passengers were coming up to me and saying, “I’m so glad you’re getting what you deserve.” They thought it was all coming to us and they didn’t realize that in fact, we’d had our income cut in half! A family of five will come up, with two bags each. That’s ten bags. They’ll give me $20 and thank me for my service. All of that goes to the airlines now, before it would all go to me.

The airlines just keep tacking on fees and fees. A lot of passengers are now saying, “I’m not giving the airlines another cent! I’ll just check my bag inside.” Of course, this just makes the lines longer.

Everything is just getting more and more expensive. But when you’re a contracted employee working for the airlines, you have to struggle for every dime. The airlines can always invent new fees to add on to passengers to stay profitable, but when I go to the gas station or the grocery store, how am I supposed to keep my budget? It’s time for somebody to balance the scales.

photo credit: Hyougushi

My name is Patrick Jack. I have worked as a skycap at San Francisco International Airport for nearly 18 years, providing service for American Airlines.

I love working with the public. I work hard to provide a decent life for me and my wife. But it’s hard when the cost of rent, gas, and food keeps going up. My wife has breast cancer and I pay close to $400 a month for her healthcare costs. It has never been easy making ends meet in the Bay Area, but now the airlines have made it nearly impossible.

Several years ago, the airlines started charging passengers several dollars to use skycap services. This policy cut my wages by more than 60% because so much of my salary was dependent upon the tips I received. Instead of the passenger paying me, now the passenger is giving all the money to the airlines.

Airlines keep passing the buck off on the passengers. Now, they are charging passengers for checking more than one bag. American charges hundreds of dollars for passengers checking several bags, but we haven’t seen any of the money. We have only seen our salaries cut drastically.

Several of my co-workers have started working second jobs to cover the costs of this new policy. Now they never have time to spend with their families. But I need to spend time with my wife. At the same time I need money to care for her. These are not choices that any hard working person should be faced with. It’s time for the airlines to do what is right.

-Patrick Jack

photo by superciliousness