Airport workers rally at Dulles Airport over healthcare

DULLES, Va. - Airport workers who assist passengers through Washington Dulles International Airport gathered Monday morning to ask for help with high healthcare costs.

The "Sick of It! Fix Health Care Now" bus tour made a stop at the airport for a rally bringing together airport workers, patients, and Virginia lawmakers. FOX 5’s Maureen Umeh reported that workers want to make clear that having a job does not guarantee affordable health insurance.

That concern is what organizers aim to highlight, noting that some airport workers go without coverage while others depend on Medicaid. Baggage handlers, wheelchair agents, and other service workers shared how that impacts their lives and asked lawmakers to take action.

Their union, 32BJ SEIU, joined Protect Our Care for the Dulles stop of its tour. The campaign is traveling across more than 15 states, highlighting workers’ and patients’ experiences with healthcare expenses.

Scheduled speakers included U.S. Reps. Suhas Subramanyam and James Walkinshaw, Virginia state Sen. Kannan Srinivasan, and an Alexandria cancer survivor and healthcare advocate. Organizers are calling for Republican-backed Medicaid cuts to be reversed and enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits restored to lower insurance premiums.

They are also calling for Medicare to negotiate prices for additional prescription drugs and for drug-cost protections to reach more people with private insurance. The rally took place in the airport’s cell phone lot before the tour headed to Williamsburg for another event in the afternoon.

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