Feb. 13—Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Friday dismissed a large airport vendor accused of poor working conditions, delivering a major win to labor leaders in her first big break with the prior administration.
Levine Cava informed Eulen America that its contract at Miami International Airport would terminate on Aug. 12, exercising her power as the chief administrator overseeing vendors across Miami-Dade government, including at county-owned airports. She announced the decision in a memo to the County Commission, which ratifies MIA contracts.
It "is in the best interests of the County to terminate its business relationship with Eulen America in order to ensure that Miami International Airport continues to reflect the values of our community," she wrote.
Eulen America ordered out of MIA by August
The company provides ramp, cargo, cleaning and baggage-handling services to American, MIA's largest carrier, and to Delta.
Miami Herald news partner CBS4 first reported the unsafe working conditions for Eulen workers in April 2019, including broken equipment and entire shifts outdoors without water breaks.
After the CBS4 story, workers said Eulen cleaned out the cockroach-infested supply trucks and added a truck with Gatorade to the tarmac. Still, the workers said problems persisted and the company did not provide any paid sick or vacation days.
The company's contract was extended in the final days of Carlos Gimenez's time as mayor, which ended in November. His administration granted two-year extensions to Eulen and other ground-service providers on year-to-year agreements that weren't up for renewal in February.
Lester Sola, the county Aviation Director under Gimenez, issued the two-year extensions on Nov. 13 under Gimenez's direction, according to the letters sent to Eulen and the four other MIA companies that provide similar services. Levine Cava took office Nov. 17 and retained Sola. On Friday, Sola said the extensions were required 90 days before the expiration dates of the agreements, prompting the November letters.
Eulen cited the recent extension in a statement issued Friday, which criticized Levine Cava for refusing to meet with the company.
" Eulen America is willing to find a way to save the jobs of the more than 900 employees at MIA that Mayor Levine-Cava's action will take away, further hurting families already struggling in the pandemic," company CEO Xavier Rabell said in a letter that incorrectly inserted a hyphen in the mayor's name. "Her timing could not be worse, and we cannot imagine any rationale which would support her abrupt and unjustifiable decision."
Terminating Eulen marks the most drastic action Levine Cava has taken since assuming office Nov. 17, with one of MIA's largest and most targeted vendors ordered to clear out of county property. "Please coordinate removal of ground service equipment and other materials with Miami-Dade Aviation staff," the mayor wrote in a letter to Rabell.
Levine Cava breaks with Gimenez on MIA contract
The first Democrat to hold the non-partisan mayor post since 2004, Levine Cava received heavy labor support in her run against fellow commissioner Esteban "Steve" Bovo Jr., a Republican. She made better worker benefits in county contracts a plank in her campaign, with she and Bovo clashing over stalled Levine Cava legislation requiring sick leave for out-sourced county workers at MIA and beyond.
Jose "Pepe" Diaz, the commission chairman and a Republican, said Friday he pressed Levine Cava on what would happen with Eulen's workers after she ended the company's contract. "I said, 'You know that's close to 1,000 employees," Diaz said. "She said the other [service companies at MIA] would pick them up."
In June 2019, workers for Eulen at MIA went on strike during the national Democratic presidential debate being held nearby. At the time, Eulen said its equipment was "fully serviceable and safe to operate" and that the company had spent more than $200,000 on equipment like belt loaders and air conditioners in the previous nine months.
OSHA findings against Eulen
When investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited Miami International Airport in May and July of 2019 to look into the Eulen workers' claims, they found too little water for employees, too much exposure to harmful germs and roaches in vehicles.
OSHA proposed fines totaling $77,898 before settling with the company for $46,739.
"All issues were quickly addressed and brought into full compliance," a Eulen spokesperson said via email Friday.
Though made public Friday, the termination was in the works all week. Jimmy Morales, the county's chief operations officer, issued a memo to Sola on Tuesday telling him to prepare the termination papers. Eileen Higgins, Eulen's top foe on the county commission and a Levine Cava ally, introduced legislation to hire two more ground-service providers at MIA.
Eulen and the other existing providers opposed the bill, which stalled at a committee hearing Tuesday. Eulen lobbyist Ana Sotorrio told the the committee that flight traffic was too far down at MIA to justify divvying up the airline work among more providers.
"The timing could not be worse," she said. "My client alone regretfully furloughed, unfortunately, 50% of its employees... Employees will be further impacted when their lives have already been severely impacted by the COVID pandemic."
Ahead of the termination letter, Levine Cava met Thursday with Higgins, airport administrators and lawyers and multiple American executives about the plan to dismiss Eulen in August.
In a statement Friday, Higgins said she looked forward to a "smooth transition that ensures workers are not displaced during the process." Because Eulen workers have already been cleared for MIA post-security work, Higgins said she expects most Eulen workers to migrate to other companies that need help as airline travel recovers
"This is a good news story in the end," said Higgins, who testified against Eulen in a congressional hearing last year. "Our existing [companies] can compete for the business. We have not heard any of these complaints from the others."
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