Sanders Calls on Port Authority to Address JFK Security Concerns

James Sanders and Donovan Richards

City Councilman James Sanders joined 20 religious and community leaders this week in a letter calling on the Port Authority to address the concerns of security workers who inspect planes at JFK International Airport. Late last month, the New York Times reported that employees of a Long Island-based security contractor, Global Elite Group, were complaining about having to rush through cabin inspections and a lack of adequate training. The letter echoes those issues, but also focuses on the wages of the non-union workers, reflecting a push to unionize, including a planned picket by the company’s workers at JFK on Thursday. “The Port Authority needs to put pressure on these contractors in the airport who are pretty much underpaying and under-staffing their organization,” said Donovan Richards, Sanders’ chief of staff and a candidate for his boss’ Council seat, who also signed the letter. “This is why we find ourselves in the predicament we’re in, in terms of these security breaches and these things going on at JFK Airport as we speak.”