New York area airport workers call off strike

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Delta JFK

Getty Images/Andrew Burton

Command Security Corp employees who work at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport have suspended plans to strike on Wednesday, the 32BJ SEIU service workers union said.

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The security services provider has reached an agreement with employees that had planned to strike, according to Juan Chapman, a worker at the airport.

A strike could have impacted Delta Air Lines , which contracts the workers, although the airline said on Tuesday that it was taking measures to ensure its customers would not be affected.

The workers are security guards who don't perform services provided by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, as well as baggage handlers and wheelchair attendants. They're non-union workers, but they're affiliated with SEIU and are seeking to join the union.

In a statement, Command Security said that "today that its Aviation Safeguards ("AVSG") division has agreed to labor peace with the Service Employees International Union ("SEIU") New York Local 32BJ."

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The statement continued: "This process guarantees that the employees of AVSG will maintain their right to choose representation or not. Furthermore, our employees will be guaranteed a peaceful environment in which to make this decision."

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in New York, editing by G Crosse)