Meng brings Flushing airport worker to State of the Union

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng will take a LaGuardia Airport security officer to the State of the Union address tonight. Photo by Thomas Altfather Good via Wikimedia Commons.

By Victoria Merlino

A LaGuardia Airport security officer will be attending this year’s State of the Union address as the guest of a Queens congresswoman. 

Abdul Quddus Chaudhry, a resident of Flushing, will join U.S. Rep. Grace Meng at tonight’s State of the Union address from President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. Chaudhry emigrated from Pakistan to the United States in 2010, becoming a citizen in 2014. In Pakistan, he ran his own law practice. Currently, he is a member of the 32BJ SEIU property service workers union, and a member of the Airport Workers Bargaining Committee.

“Bringing Abdul as my guest shines a light on the important role that our labor force plays in communities throughout Queens and across the nation, and it brings attention to their fight for improving workers’ rights, including affordable health benefits and safe working conditions,” Meng said. 

32BJ SEIU supported airport workers at JFK Airport last summer when they went on strike following a number of alleged worker abuses from an airline contractor. Meng’s distrcit is located between LaGuardia and JFK Airports. 

“It is a privilege to join Congresswoman Meng at the State of the Union address,” Chaudhry said. “At LaGuardia, I see my colleagues constantly struggling to pay for the high cost of health insurance, and fighting for better workplace conditions. It is unacceptable that workers are not afforded the protections they deserve.”