Home Economy Economic Activity Unionized airport workers vote no confidence in R.I. Airport Corp. CEO

Unionized airport workers vote no confidence in R.I. Airport Corp. CEO

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PBN Staff

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01/30/2025

UNION WORKERS for the R.I. Airport Corp. on Thursday voted no confidence in CEO and President Iftikhar Ahmad. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WARWICK – Unionized workers at the R.I. Airport Corp. on Thursday voted no confidence in CEO and President Iftikhar Ahmad. Council 94, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees AFL-CIO, and Local 2873 announced the vote, blaming Ahmad for the widespread turnover at the agency that oversees the state’s airports, WPRI-TV CBS 12 reported

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WARWICK – Unionized workers at the R.I. Airport Corp. on Thursday voted no confidence in CEO and President Iftikhar Ahmad. Council 94, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees AFL-CIO, and Local 2873 announced the vote, blaming Ahmad for the widespread turnover at the agency that oversees the state’s airports, WPRI-TV CBS 12 reported Thursday. “Under CEO Ahmad’s tenure over sixty non-union employees were terminated or left RIAC, had over four different police chiefs, and the police department is running ten officers short in violation of a grievance settlement,” Local 2873 President Steven Parent said in a statement to WPRI. “CEO Ahmad’s hostile churn-and-burn management must cease.” Rhode Island Airport Corp. spokesperson William Fischer said in a statement that the union’s no-confidence vote is "pure theater" intended to generate leverage at the negotiating table and nothing more. “We have been negotiating in good faith for many months. It’s time that union leaders put forth a meaningful effort to finalize a contract,” Fischer said. “These PR stunts will not pressure RIAC to make poor decisions at the negotiating table. RIAC management remains focused on its mission and will not be distracted nor impacted by baseless and untrue accusations. RIAC’s union employees are compensated extremely well in both pay and benefits.” Internal issues that have pitted staff against leadership have plagued the agency since its return to more stable operations and finances since the COVID-19 pandemic. In October, R.I. Airport Corp. fired Parent for “repeatedly” contacting prospective job candidates to discourage them from working at Rhode Island International T.F. Green Airport. RIAC officials claimed Parent “put the department at risk of not meeting safety requirements under Part 139 of federal regulations” and “knowingly and willfully engaged in efforts to sabotage airport operations and violated his fiduciary responsibility.” According to RIAC, Parent received more than $52,000 in overtime pay due to job vacancies and had a direct influence on overtime shift scheduling. He allegedly told his superiors that he made the calls in his “personal capacity.” Parent declined to comment on the allegations to Providence Business News in October, but he speculated that it may have been driven by his recent reelection to union president. On Wednesday, Joseph Perkins resigned as the head of security for T.F. Green after only four months on the job. He declined to state specific issues that led to his resignation. “I came from out of state – I knew no one in the state prior to accepting the job and certainly no one at the airport,” Perkins told Rhode Island Current. “After 90 days on the job, I quickly surmised that remaining employed at the airport under the current administrative leadership was something I would not do.” In a message to coworkers Tuesday obtained by Rhode Island Current, Perkins apologized for being unable to promote a more positive atmosphere at the airport. “I am sorry I was not able to become what I and most of you expected when I took this job,” Perkins wrote. Perkins alleged airport leadership wants to “eliminate the police department and most of all the union.” Fischer denied the claim. “There are no plans to eliminate the RIAC police department and the department is properly staffed and able to fulfill its mission,” he said in a statement to the Rhode Island Current, confirming the department has 27 officers.