Miami airport workers allege wage theft, ask for pay protections
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Miami airport cargo workers protest against the company AGI following wage-theft allegations. Photos: Courtesy of 32BJ SEIU
Cargo workers at Miami International Airport on Monday announced wage-theft complaints against their employer while joining fellow airport workers to demand living wages.
The big picture: MIA is one of Florida's largest economic engines, generating $212 billion in statewide business revenue. It's also the busiest cargo airport in the U.S.
Driving the news: Three current and former employees at AGI Cargo say they are owed about $13,200 in unpaid wages, according to Oct. 3 complaints filed with Miami-Dade County and reviewed by Axios.
- The workers' union, 32BJ SEIU, says AGI employs roughly 900 workers at MIA, who handle everything from pharmaceuticals to seafood flying into the airport.
- The union says AGI requires some employees to remain available between flights without pay and calculates overtime using a lower rate than their regular pay.
The other side: Sarah Andrews, a representative of AGI, tells Axios that "employees are paid for all time worked, and any claims (or even suggestion) to the contrary are without merit."
- Andrews says overtime beyond 40 hours in a week is paid at one and a half times the regular rate.
- She says AGI and other companies use "split shift schedules" because cargo aircraft are more unpredictable than passenger flights.
- "Employees receive weekly schedules based on anticipated flight activity, with adjustments when arrival times change. Employees are paid for all time worked," she says.
What they're saying: Carlos Builes, a ramp agent at AGI who loads and unloads cargo, says he is owed $3,033 in estimated unpaid wages, according to his wage-theft complaint.
- During Monday's rally, he said he could barely sleep at night not knowing whether he will be called early into work.
- "I don't have a life; all I do is work. But even so, I struggle to pay my bills," he said. "I'm behind on my property taxes. Sometimes I skip meals because I can't afford groceries. I have to donate plasma for money just to survive."
Meanwhile, airport workers were also rallying Monday against a Florida law that bans local governments from providing wages to airport workers that exceed the state's $15-an-hour minimum wage.
- Miami-Dade currently requires companies contracted by the county to pay workers $22.53 an hour if they don't provide health benefits, or $18.40 if they do, per the Miami Herald.
- The law bans local governments from influencing what contractors pay for all agreements signed after Sept. 30, 2026.
Elected officials, including Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, joined the workers at the rally Monday.
- "You deserve to have a dignified life and a dignified salary," she said.