SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — Nearly 30 security screeners chanted, “At SFO, we’re union strong; unequal pay is hella wrong,” and earned car honks as they protested for higher pay Thursday outside Harvey Milk Terminal.

About 1,000 security screeners employed by Covenant Aviation Security who work at SFO are represented by the Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West. The protest was driven mainly by staff retention and pay inequity, which workers say isn’t keeping pace with the cost of living in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

“I’m just hoping that they give us our equal pay and to just make sure that they treat us like human beings and not just another person that they can replace any time they want,” said security screener Karina Rodriguez. “We want to be heard, we want to be seen, we want to make sure that we’re here for the long term, not just for a couple months.”

A 2022 law requires contractors to compensate their employees at levels comparable to TSA’s directly-employed workers, ensuring pay fairness across the board.

Sanjay Garla, first vice president of the union, said that the act was supposed to improve retention by rewarding seniority with better pay. But at SFO, Garla said TSA would give senior and newer employees the same amount of money and then pay everyone the same increased amount every time TSA renewed their contract with Covenant.

Covenant Aviation Security worker Larry Mirshahi and others protest during a rally at San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 1 in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The workers are contracted by Transportation Security Administration and wanting higher pay. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) 

Garla said that at least $12 million was owed to employees in back pay, but he said that number was an estimate since he doesn’t know how TSA calculates their wages and benefits.

Retention is a constant issue. Being a security screener can be be a “really high-stress job,” Garla said, and people have left for jobs with better pay and less stress. In turn, as airports hired more people to fill the vacancies, senior employees have to dedicate more time to training new hires, and this lack of experience can lead to dangerous items slipping past the screeners.

Joe Grandov, a security screener at SFO, has been working for Covenant for almost 12 years. He said that the pay as a contractor used to be higher than the TSA employees’ compensation, but contract workers did not get other benefits, like retirement or a pension. However, as the TSA employees’ pay began to outpace the contractors’ pay, it became more difficult to make ends meet, he said.

Grandov spoke about how working as a security screener as become “less and less favorful,” attributing it to the lower pay and mistreatment from customers.

“We deal with people in a very uncomfortable position. People don’t like the security, they don’t like being delayed,” Grandov said. “We get spit on by people, we get stink eye from people, we get abused verbally from people because they’re too late to make their planes, and all we’re trying to do is make sure that they’re safe.”

Covenant Aviation Security workers protest during a rally at San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 1 in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The workers are contracted by Transportation Security Administration and are wanting higher pay. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) 

As the protest went on, the number of employees in attendance fluctuated as workers joined the picket line when they took a break and left when they needed to go back to work.

“The contract security officers at SFO are considered essential workers. Operations will continue uninterrupted,” TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers said in an email to the Bay Area News Group.

San Francisco District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan made an appearance at the airport to show her support for the union. During her tenure, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed mandates that set expectations for healthcare and a minimum wage for all employees in San Francisco. She said she and the board would support the union’s efforts, and make an inquiry to TSA and the federal government to adhere to the contract if necessary.

“San Francisco Bay Area, it’s a really expensive area,” Chan said. “[As the cost of living continues to increase], all workers should deserve one job. One job should be enough.”

Because of the unequal pay, some of the workers have said that it is difficult to afford the things they need. Grandov said he and his brother take turns taking care of their mother, who has dementia, but although he is working more hours than he ever has, he said he is still not being compensated for all of the time he worked.

“I’m 70. I should be thinking about retirement, not trying to figure out where to make another nickel,” Grandov said.

Covenant Aviation Security workers protest during a rally at San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 1 in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The workers are contracted by Transportation Security Administration and are wanting higher pay. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) 

In addition to working full-time as a security screener at SFO, Rodriguez said she is working part-time for two different home care companies to support herself and her extended family, who all live together in one house in Burlingame. She said she was newly engaged, and working ten-hour shifts to be able to afford the things she wants for her wedding.

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“If they actually paid us that, I’d be less stressed, I’d be less overworked, I’ll be able to have a [comfortable] life,” Rodriguez said.

SFO is one of 21 airports in the U.S. that outsource their security screening operations to private contractors as part of the Transportation Security Administration’s Screening Partnership program.

SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said in an email that the airport issued a free speech permit to the union to “provide a platform … to communicate their message to the public” and “to designate locations for this activity to ensure passengers are still free to move through the airport without impediment.”

Officials with Covenant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hillary Ritter, a 36-year-old former San Francisco resident who was waiting for a ride from the airport Thursday, filmed the protest on her phone in support of the cause.

“I’m proud of what they’re doing,” Ritter said. “I’m glad they’re standing up for themselves. They should be paid equally.”

Covenant Aviation Security workers protest during a rally at San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 1 as passengers arrive in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The workers are contracted by Transportation Security Administration. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)