Melanie_Alnwick's Blog

Think you don't make a lot of money these days?  I was shocked to learn that US Airways skycaps at National Airport.. make $2.13 an hour.. plus tips.  Now, I'm sure while we're all feeling the pinch... no one who depends on tips is doing very well these days.   But these guys have something else working against them.  

They say the recent $2. per bag charge at curbside check-in... robs them of tip money. Passengers we talked to say they assumed that some of that fee was going to the skycaps.. but it doesn't.   One dollar goes to the airlines, one dollar goes to their contract employer, Prime Flight Aviation Services.    A lawyer for the group says that at the Philadelphia airport, the US Airways curbside fee collected 1.2 million in just two months.

The law says an employer can pay below minimum wage if it can ensure workers make up the difference in tips.  By my math, they'd only have to clear another $4.87 an hour for the fee to be legal...  but I'm guessing for the skycaps, it's about more than just money.

Skycaps bust their butts for our convenience... they give their backs, and their knees to the job.  They have no union, they get no benefits.  Should they have to give up their dignity and beg for tips, too?