Pay up, fliers.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey proposal to increase the minimum wage at John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports.
The proposal would give thousands of airport workers annual wage increases starting in January 2025. Officials said automatic increases would be tied to the regional cost of living and would be consistent with the minimum wage policies of New York and New Jersey.
The Port Authority Board of Commissioners last adopted an expanded minimum wage policy in 2018, which brought airport workers’ wages to a minimum of $19 per hour as of September 2023. However, it did not include provisions for additional increases without additional board action.
The new proposal provides three upfront increases of $0.75 in January 2025, July 2025, and January 2026. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, annual increases would be tied to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index three-year moving average for the Northeast region.
