news/AMZN/2023.02.27/Aviation industry turns to childcare, free iPhones to lure workers.txt

Feb 27 (Reuters) - The North American aviation industry
is wooing workers with daycare centers, cheaper transport and
free iPhones to compete in a tight market where salaries for
entry-level, low-skilled jobs often lag those at e-commerce
companies like Amazon.Shortages of workers like baggage handlers and customer
service agents led to long lines and delayed luggage during the
peak summer travel season last year, marring the industry's
recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and spurring demand for new
initiatives to attract workers."If you want people to work crazy shifts, in the middle of
the night, in the middle of the day, you need to be able to
accommodate their family life too," Thomas Romig, vice president
at airport trade group Airports Council International, or ACI
World, said of services like daycare."Airports are taking more actions to try and recruit, retain
and train (or) upskill workers."ACI, which has member airports around the world, is now
preparing guidance for them on making jobs at 24-hour centers
outside city cores more friendly to workers.Part of the issue for the aviation industry is that low
wages and taxing work have long made retaining staff at airports
a challenge, a problem exacerbated by the pandemic and now,
historically low unemployment rates. In the United States, the
unemployment rate is at its lowest level in more than 53 years.U.S. air transportation employment has recovered over the
past year to above pre-pandemic levels. But the sector still
needs to add jobs as U.S. air travel also rebounds - forecasts
show it is set to rise again this year from pre-pandemic levels
hit in 2022.'DAYCARE IS COMING'Job sweeteners are necessary because average pay for U.S.
airport workers at just under $18 an hour drastically lags that
of e-commerce employers like Amazon, which pay almost
$33 an hour on average, according to ZipRecruiter.Childcare programs have been one response. Apart from
airports in California, they are not usually offered at North
American airports. But that is changing.The city of Phoenix's aviation department, which runs the
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, has launched a
childcare program for airport workers and plans to build a
childcare facility on airport property. The department, which
has about 900 full-time positions, currently has 133 of 171 job
openings still unfilled.Since its launch, 37 airport workers have joined the
program, which covers daycare costs partially. The city of
Phoenix is also spending $1 million to develop a separate
childcare facility next to the airport.The effort is aimed at getting people back to work after the
pandemic and helping the airport run smoothly, said Matthew
Heil, the city department's special projects administrator.At Kelowna International Airport in British Columbia,
Canada, construction is underway for a daycare primarily for
children of employees who work on airport property.The project already helped retain one customer service
agent, a single father who had considered leaving, said Phillip
Elchitz, senior manager of airport operations."Now he knows the daycare is coming and he's not looking for
(other) work anymore," Elchitz said. "That is exactly why we are
doing this."Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is
similarly weighing offering childcare on-site or nearby in a bid
to offer attractive benefits to workers, said airport
spokesperson Mindy Kershner.Some California airports, which already offer daycare, are
adding other services to make life easier for employees.San Francisco in July will increase monthly subsidies
offered to employees using public transit by more than 50% to
$200, while a free shuttle is being piloted for workers who live
further away, an airport spokesperson said.Kelowna's airport is also considering shuttle service for
hard-to-fill night or pre-dawn shifts when public transit is not
available.FREE CARS AND IPHONESAirlines are facing similar struggles on the hiring front.Delta Air Lines is offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus
for a ramp agent position  - among the more taxing jobs in
aviation - in Minneapolis. Other carriers such as United
Airlines and Alaska Airlines are also trying to
attract workers for ramp operations with signing bonuses,
according to job postings.Ground handling company Unifi, which provides labor and
equipment to Delta, United, and Alaska Airlines, has seen costs
to bring on new workers in tight labor markets rise as much as
60% from pre-pandemic levels, Unifi Chief Strategy Officer Ying
McPherson said.With Unifi's staff turnover rate above pre-pandemic levels,
it has turned to incentive programs to retain talent, McPherson
said.For example, it last year gave away brand new cars to three
employees and smartphones, including iPhones, to over 3,000
workers who met performance targets, a company spokesperson
said. It is now offering emergency funds and sponsoring a
program that allows employees to pay for purchases such as
appliances and computers over time, the spokesperson added.In some cases, airlines and aviation services companies are
flying in workers and hosting them at local hotels for temporary
assignments to avoid the costs of hiring additional staff in
tighter labor markets, McPherson said.Facility services and management specialist Grupo Eulen,
which works with carriers like American Airlines,
estimates wages for ground handlers will rise around 6% to 8%
this year, although fewer hiring bonuses are being offered.Unions argue the industry needs to do more to attract and
retain workers, especially given practices like
contract-flipping - work being transferred from one company to
another - are common.Yavar Qadri, a representative for Unifor, Canada's largest
private sector union, says his salary was cut by 5% and he then
lost dental benefits during two separate flips over the last 15
years while working as a security guard overnight for a
contractor at Canada's largest airport in Toronto.A security guard like Qadri would normally start on wages of
C$15.55 an hour and hit just C$16.14 hourly after six years,
according to Unifor, underscoring the dim pay rise prospects."People are working multiple jobs. Or they are trying to get
a lot of overtime hours," added Qadri. "The whole scenario
creates a very toxic atmosphere. Everybody is tired."And then there are others - like Jared Barker, a 33-year-old
baggage handler at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport
who quit and left the industry altogether last year after mass
departures during the pandemic led to a heavier workload."It just burned me out," said Barker, who now works in
insurance sales.
(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rajesh Kumar
Singh in Chicago, additional reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in
New York, editing by Ben Klayman and Deepa Babington)