The Chicago Political Economy Group, along with other Chicago Academics and Unite Here! Local 1, recently collaborated on a cost-benefit analysis of a proposed Chicago Ordinance that would ensure airport concessions workers at O’Hare and Midway International Airports are paid at least the Chicago Living Wage ($11.18) that the City requires of other contractors.
The study estimates that 1,600 of the 2,400 concessions workers at the two Chicago airports would increase their wages an average of approximately $2 an hour. This would be an increase in annual income of about $4,000 per full-time worker covered, from roughly $18,000 to $22,000 a year.
Working Papers
