More than 150 flight attendants, joined by U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill), picketed outside O’Hare Airport on Tuesday to protest the lack of contract negotiations and demand better wages and working conditions.

The flight attendants in Chicago were joined by thousands of other flight attendants across major cities such as New York City, Los Angeles and Boston, as part of the Worldwide Flight Attendant Day of Action. More than two-thirds of U.S. flight attendants across 24 airlines are in contract negotiations, including with Chicago-based United Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

“We are the faces of our carriers. We deserve better work rules, we deserve shorter work days and we also deserve longer rest periods,” said Dray Howard, Chicago-based president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, during a news conference.

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Flight attendants at American Airlines haven’t seen a salary or cost-of-living increase in five years, Howard said, and some new hires can barely survive, even when picking up trips on their days off, she said.

“We are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. We are not just employee numbers. We are flight attendants. We are mothers, fathers,” Howard said.

As protesters chanted “contract now,” a passenger was walking by and beat his hand against his chest to the chant, while rolling his suitcase with his other hand. Emmanuel De George, 39, said he supported the flight attendants and hopes they get better pay.

“I think the ticket prices are so high that why can’t we afford to pay them?” he said. “It’d be nice if some of the money we paid for tickets were going to the people that actually keep us safe in the air.”

The protests at O’Hare were organized by three flight attendant unions: the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents workers at multiple airlines, including United Airlines; the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, representing workers at American Airlines; and the Transport Workers Union, which represents workers at multiple airlines, including Southwest.

Southwest said in a statement that it reached an agreement with TWU 556 in October 2023 and is “scheduled to meet next week with the union and the National Mediation Board to continue working toward an agreement that benefits our Flight Attendants and Southwest.”

The picket line was not part of a strike. Under federal law, airline workers must get permission to strike from the federal government.

“The federal mediator requested by the AFA has scheduled our first negotiations session for March 19,” United Airlines said in a statement Tuesday. “We’re looking forward to working with AFA to narrow the issues so that we can continue to work toward an industry-leading agreement for our flight attendants.”

A spokesperson for American Airlines said in a statement: “We appreciate and respect our flight attendants’ right to picket and understand that is their way of telling us the importance of getting a contract done — and we hear them. We have a proven track record of reaching new agreements for our team, ensuring they are paid at the top of the industry. That’s our same goal for our flight attendants. The proposal we’ve had on the table since September 2023 includes increased pay, the addition of boarding pay and other meaningful improvements. We remain at the negotiating table, ready to make a deal — and we are confident that we will reach a new agreement soon.”

One major sticking point for the unions is boarding pay, said Scott Pejas, president of the Chicago chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants. Most flight attendants don’t get paid until the plane’s doors close, meaning time spent waiting at the airport or helping passengers board a flight is unpaid.

“Half the time that we’re at work, we’re not getting paid,” Pejas said. “It’s time to get paid for all the time that we’re on duty. I think it’s ridiculous that we aren’t getting paid for that.”

Garcia, a member of the labor caucus, said flight attendants deserve a raise, especially at a time when more people are flying.

“Record profits are being made. The prosperity should be shared with the workers that make flying a success,” Garcia said.

Schakowsky, also a member of the labor caucus, said flight attendants’ fight for a better contract is part of a country-wide increase in labor organizing.

“More Americans [are] supporting organized labor than ever in history, and they are out there fighting for their rights and winning,” she said.