Airports Offer New Frontier in Union Fights

Swartha Tujare was fired from her job as a wheelchair attendant at Dulles International Airport outside Washington after she went out on strike to protest against low pay and poor working conditions. The National Labor Relations Board forced Huntleigh Corp. to rehire the 67-year-old Tujare some five months later, but she and her co-workers haven’t yet been able to join a union. That could get even more difficult if one obscure federal agency decides to get involved.

Airport contractors such as Huntleigh and ABM Onsite say labor beefs involving baggage handlers, plane cleaners, runway assistants, and other workers whose airport ...