Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner signed an executive order at a Feb. 16 press conference raising the minimum wage for airport workers in Houston to $15 by 2023.

In 2019 Turner signed a similar executive order, which raised the minimum wage up from $7.25 to $12 for airport workers at George Bush Intercontinental, William P. Hobby and Ellington airports.

Teresa McClatchie, an escalator guard at Bush Airport, said the fight for a wage increase has been ongoing for the past six years. Speaking at the press conference, she said airport workers make sacrifices to take care of the basic needs for their families, with some working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

McClatchie said she knows workers who have been at Bush Airport for over 20 years who were paid what she called "poverty wages."

“This is a monumental thing for us,” McClatchie said. “It gives me great joy and great passion to be one of the frontline workers risking our lives, our health to make sure that the airport is running smooth[ly]. There is now light at the end of the tunnel.”

Turner said the pay increase will help thousands of Houston families improve their lives. At the press conference, he also announced the city of Houston and Houston First will be raising the hourly pay for janitorial and security contracts with the city to $15 by December.