Nearly three dozen people picketed outside the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority offices in Crystal City today demanding paid sick days for airport workers.

The protestors, which included airport workers and service worker union members of SEIU 32BJ, held up signs reading “MWAA SICK DAYS NOW.” Many of the corporate airport employees are still remote working, though a few have returned to the office, according to an airport spokesperson.

Tewodros Yirgu, a recently laid-off baggage handler who came to the protest, says his colleagues are trying to make the decision to get paid or stay home if they’re feeling a little ill.

“They also have to make money. They can’t do both,” Yirgu said. “How can you cover your rent? How can you cover your daily expenses? Sick days with payment is all we’re asking.”

The union says contract workers are currently afforded no sick days. The airport currently does not require its contractors to provide employees with paid sick leave, and the union is campaigning to change that.

The workers handle baggage, assist people in wheelchairs, clean the planes and terminal, and provide security. The union says the “overwhelming majority” of contracted airport workers are immigrants and people of color who are disproportionately at risk and affected by COVID-19. They live in hotspots and must use public transit and work in the airport with exposure to many people.

The union says nearly 70 Reagan National Airport workers were recently exposed to the coronavirus because of an outbreak at an Alexandria church earlier this month. “For weeks, workers with no sick days have to make the choice between going without pay and showing up to work at the airport sick,” the union said in a release.

Airport Authority spokesperson Christina Saull says they are not aware of any airport worker who is self-quarantining “due to a possible exposure at a place of worship in Alexandria.”

She said airport employees are not permitted to come to work if they are experiencing COVID-related symptoms or if they are notified by the Department of Health of a potential exposure.

But the national and state labor rules around paid leave seem to be murky at best.

The union says the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act only covered emergency sick days to employers with less than 500 employees. It’s unclear how many airport contractors fall under that category.

Virginia directives say all businesses in the commonwealth must “provide flexible sick leave policies consistent with public health guidance to the extent feasible and permitted by law, including but not limited to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.”

Saull said the Airports Authority Board is “determining the best course of action within the bounds of Virginia and federal law regarding the request for mandatory sick leave and held a listening session with worker representatives earlier in August.”

The board’s next meeting is September 17th. DCist reached out to board chair Earl Adams Jr. and vice-chair William Sudow via email for comment but did not receive a reply.

Jaime Contreras, vice president of the union, said that’s already months too late.

“(MWAA) is trying to figure out what’s the most responsible way to do it,” Contreras said. “They have concerns, obviously, as do we, about cost. But to me, having an employer having to close shop because somebody was infected with COVID is a lot more costly than having to provide people who may get exposed sick days so that they can stay home and not come and expose other people.”

In June, two dozen Virginia lawmakers sent a letter urging MWAA to provide paid sick leave.

“This is a public health issue,” the letter said. “The Occupational Safety and Health Administration lists airport workers among the most vulnerable workers to a pandemic like COVID-19. We believe that it is crucial that workers not expose themselves, passengers, and other staff to the virus.”

Bills to mandate paid sick leave during the pandemic are working their way through the special session now.

Both Contreras and Yirgu said they think MWAA’s board will provide sick leave soon.

“We need it now,” Contreras said. “The outbreaks are happening now.”