The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is considering raising the minimum wage for workers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to $15 within two years.

Under the ordinance, minimum wage for workers in nearly 30 job classifications would be $13.25 starting in July. The would go up by $1 in July 2021 and reach $15 per hour in July 2022. The hourly wage would be adjusted for inflation beginning in January 2023.

The ordinance would cover workers ranging from baggage handlers to ID checkers to retail and restaurant workers. Employers could not count tips toward the minimum wage, according to the draft ordinance.

The MAC, which owns and operates the airport, will hold a public hearing at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 21 in the commission’s chambers in Terminal 1.

Airport workers have long been pushing for higher wages, including holding rallies to draw attention to their cause.

If adopted, the airport would join St. Paul and Minneapolis in passing a $15-an-hour minimum wage ordinance.

Tim Harlow