News / Cargo handler AGI accused of multiple safety failings at New York airports

Photo: 32BJ SEIU

Alliance Ground International (AGI), one of the largest outsourced cargo and ground handlers in North America, is facing a wave of safety allegations from workers at New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports, including claims of malfunctioning brakes, runaway tugs, flooding cargo areas, and inadequate training.

SEIU Local 32BJ said on Friday it had filed formal complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on behalf of 21 AGI workers — 14 at JFK and seven at LaGuardia — covering cargo warehouse, ramp and ground-handling operations.

The allegations span AGI cargo facilities at JFK Buildings 21 and 77, Post Office Building 250, and cargo and former passenger operations at LaGuardia.

According to the union and NYCOSH, workers reported malfunctioning brakes and emergency brakes on airport tugs, missing seat belts and mirrors, non-functioning alarms, unsafe forklifts, flooding in cargo facilities, inadequate PPE, insufficient heat protections and a lack of hands-on industrial vehicle training.

One worker claimed parked tugs could begin rolling even with emergency brakes engaged.

“The tugs have problems with the brakes,” said an anonymous JFK warehouse and mail handler quoted in the complaint materials. “Even when they’re in ‘park’, with the emergency brake on, they will move.”

Another worker, former LGA ramp agent Josh Edwin, described an incident in which workers allegedly had to chase a runaway tug after the emergency brake failed.

The complaints also allege multiple workplace injuries, including forklift strikes, falls and a heat-related hospitalisation in summer 2024. Workers further allege “persistent pressure to rush and complete jobs with insufficient staff”.

An email reviewed by The Loadstar shows OSHA’s Queens district office has confirmed receipt of the complaints and said it was “reviewing” them.

The allegations come as AGI faces broader scrutiny over labour and workplace practices.

A separate wage-and-hour lawsuit filed in Virginia this month by current and former AGI workers at Washington Reagan National Airport alleges supervisors instructed employees to work ‘off the clock’ and reduce recorded hours before payroll processing. The company denies any wrongdoing.

According to a union fact sheet, AGI and related entities have accumulated 37 OSHA or state-plan violations since 2014. The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health earlier this year included AGI in its “Dirty Dozen” list of employers associated with significant workplace safety concerns.

AGI, which was acquired by private equity firm Lone Star in March, said it had not yet received formal notification from OSHA and therefore was “not in a position to respond to the allegations”.

However, the company told The Loadstar it “takes all safety and regulatory matters seriously” and would “fully investigate and respond to any OSHA inquiries we receive”.

While AGI outlined its formal safety systems and training programmes, the company did not specifically rebut individual allegations contained in the OSHA complaints, including claims involving malfunctioning brakes, missing safety equipment and inadequate training.

AGI said it maintains “a robust safety management system, certified under the IATA ISAGO framework”, along with preventative maintenance programmes, safety committees and comprehensive employee training systems.

The company also said all required PPE was provided to employees and that its stations were “fully compliant with OSHA recordkeeping, posting, and reporting requirements”.

AGI provides cargo, mail, security and ground-handling services at more than 60 airports across North America. Airlines serviced by AGI workers at JFK include Delta Air Lines, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, LATAM and China Southern, according to the union fact sheet.

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