Governor Wes Moore ordered the Maryland Department of Transportation to establish an $18-an-hour floor for direct Maryland Aviation Administration contract workers at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, announcing the move at a Labor Day event alongside union leadership and the state’s transportation secretary. He also pledged to introduce emergency legislation early in the 2027 legislative session aimed at extending similar protections to hundreds of airport workers who remain outside the current wage law.
Moore made the announcement at a Labor Day rally with leadership from 32BJ SEIU and Maryland Transportation Secretary Katie Thomson, according to WBFF. The governor directed that the Maryland Department of Transportation must ensure no airport worker under a direct MAA contract is paid less than $18 per hour. Thomson attended the event, per the station’s report.
Closing the Gap Left by the 2021 Wage Law
The directive builds on the Secure Maryland Wage Act, passed in 2021, which raised pay for MAA contract workers at heightened-security transportation facilities. That law, covered at the time by The Washington Informer, mandated wage increases reaching $16.00 per hour plus a $1.00 hourly supplemental benefit, or $17.00 total, by 2026 for workers like non-TSA security officers, janitors, wheelchair attendants, cabin cleaners, and baggage handlers at BWI and Baltimore’s Penn Station.
But the 2021 law left approximately 700 to 800 workers outside its coverage because they were not directly contracted by MAA, the Informer reported. Because the Secure Maryland Wage Act expires in 2026, Moore said he will introduce emergency legislation at the start of the 2027 legislative session to create a pathway toward raising pay for those indirect contract workers, whose proposed coverage would extend to all workers supporting BWI.
Union Leaders Call the Raise Overdue
32BJ SEIU’s Manny Pastreich said the wage increase is sorely needed for some BWI airport workers, adding that fair wages, quality health insurance, and paid time off help the airport retain the skilled workforce needed to keep operations safe. Moore said employers must offer covered airport workers a health and welfare supplement supporting access to quality employer-paid health insurance…