--- description: The New York and New Jersey Port Authority approved the highest public sector minimum wage in the country title: New York Airport Workers to Get $19 Minimum Wage image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26c5d0ac39310474/69893b60457a52cdb2d5f7ff/gettyimages-162852416.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Aviation](/tag/aviation/) ## Aviation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New York City Airport Workers to Receive Top Minimum Wage: $19 an Hour by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 28, 2018 5:28 AM CUT  People wait in a security line at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. People wait in a security line at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.Spencer Platt—Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 28, 2018 5:28 AM CUT Airport workers in New York and New Jersey are set to enjoy the highest public sector [minimum wage](https://www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine%5Fid=2997 "undefined") in the country, after the Port Authority Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to raise workers’ pay to $19 per hour by 2023. As many as 40,000 workers at the Port Authority’s three airports will benefit from the [wage hike](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/nyregion/airport-workers-minimum-wage-nyc.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage "undefined"), which will see salaries increase in stages, the New York _Times_ reports. “This campaign is about respect and paying a fair living wage for honest work in an industry that depends on its employees to safely operate some of the most important public facilities in our nation – our airports,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said. The new rate goes well beyond the [$15 wage](http://time.com/money/4360289/d-c-passes-15-minimum-wage/ "undefined") standard set by New York state and several cities, and comes after several years of negotiation between unionized airport workers and the Port Authority board, according to the _Times_. Among the first to see gains will be workers at Newark’s airport, whose minimum hourly salaries will jump by $2 on November 1 to $12.45. The decision follows a series of recent wage hikes at other airports around the country. Seattle-Tacoma International airport [adopted](http://fortune.com/2013/11/27/american-airports-hotbeds-of-worker-wage-victories/ "undefined") a $15 minimum wage in 2013, while the Los Angeles International airport boosted workers’ pay boost to [$18.99 per hour](https://www.lawa.org/en/lawa-businesses/lawa-administrative-requirements/living-wage-and-service-worker-retention-ordinances "undefined"), including benefits, in July. But airlines have warned that raising wages could lead to higher costs for travelers. **Read more:** [_New York City Has the Worst Airports_](http://time.com/money/5185929/worst-us-airports-laguardia-kennedy-newark/ "undefined") Port Authority’s wage hike also comes amid several planned renovations, including a new [$2.7 billion](https://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2018/02/newark%5Fairport%5Fterminal%5Fa%5Fnew%5Fterminal%5Fone%5Fdevelop.html "undefined") Terminal One in Newark and [$8 billion overhaul ](https://www.wsj.com/articles/gov-cuomo-breaks-ground-on-next-stage-of-laguardia-airport-renovation-1502233020 "undefined")of the 79-year-old La Guardia Airport. In 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump lamented that New York’s airports were “like from a [third world country](https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/297935-trump-compares-us-airports-to-third-world-country "undefined").” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5409459/port-authority-airports-minimum-wage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5409459/port-authority-airports-minimum-wage/"},"headline":"New York City Airport Workers to Receive Top Minimum Wage: $19 an Hour","datePublished":"2018-09-28T05:28:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:34:46.034Z","description":"The wage will be the highest minimum public sector rate in the country","url":"https://time.com/5409459/port-authority-airports-minimum-wage/","keywords":["Aviation","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26c5d0ac39310474/69893b60457a52cdb2d5f7ff/gettyimages-162852416.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26c5d0ac39310474/69893b60457a52cdb2d5f7ff/gettyimages-162852416.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sequester Cuts Expected To Cause Delays At U.S. Airports","caption":"Sequester Cuts Expected To Cause Delays At U.S. Airports","creditText":"Spencer Platt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/aviation/","name":"Aviation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5409459/port-authority-airports-minimum-wage/","name":"New York City Airport Workers to Receive Top Minimum Wage: $19 an Hour"}}]}] ```