Wayne County Airport Board Extends CEO's Contract

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Airport Board Extends CEO's Contract
Detroit News, MI

ROMULUS — Lester Robinson, CEO of the Wayne County
Airport Authority that runs Detroit Metropolitan
Airport, was given a two-year contract extension
Monday with a $15,000 pay hike. 

The seven-member board voted unanimously to extend the
contract and didn’t consider other candidates. 

“We’re absolutely pleased with Lester,” said James
Nicholson, chairman of the airport authority. “The
sense of the board is that we’re happy with his
performance.” 

Robinson, who was appointed CEO in late 2002, said his
new salary will be $190,000. His contract extension
runs from Feb. 1 to Jan. 31, 2006. 

“I love this job,” said Robinson after the board’s
regular meeting at the airport. “This is a challenge
and I accept it. There is more progress we think we
can make.” 

One of Robinson’s first assignments will be to soothe
the feelings of the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU), which represented employees of Omni
Facilities that handled janitorial services in the
airport’s Smith and Davey terminals. 

On Monday, the airport board replaced Omni with a
three-year contract for a nonunion company, Knight
Facility Management Services, to take over those
services. 

The contract was competitively bid and the Knight
company agreed to pay union scale to its workers, but
not necessarily employ the same number of employees.
There are now 76 union janitors. 

After the board’s vote, a SEIU business agent spoke at
the meeting and warned that if the board didn’t
reverse its decision it might find 1,700 SEIU members
who are employed in Michigan on the airport’s front
door steps. 

Board members didn’t respond. 

The original janitorial contract was for $12 million.
Knight’s price tag is $7 million. 

“This is supposed to be a world-class facility,” said
Eric Lindemier, the union’s business agent. “The first
thing they look at is whether the facility is clean.
If they cut corners, this place is going to be dirty.”



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