Job Seekers, Not Protesters, Flock To Tweed

Teearra Harris works as an operating room assistant at Yale New Haven Hospital’s St. Raphael’s campus. Her job affords her just enough to get by.

“Another part-time job will really help free me up,” she said at a Tweed New Haven Airport Career Fair, which had as its mission ​“to connect local job seekers with career opportunities across the airport and aviation industry.” 

In its fourth year, the career fair, which took place in the arrivals area, represents ​“a reaffirmation of our investment in the people of this region,” said Robert H. Reed, chairman of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority. ​“Our continued collaboration with community and workforce partners ensures we’re not only building a stronger airport, but a stronger economy.” 

Conspicuously absent among those workforce partners, which included Avports, LAZ Parking, the New Haven Workforce Alliance, and New Haven Works, was mention — either in the press releases or the opening remarks — of one of Tweed’s primary airlines, Avelo. (The other commercial carrier that flies out of Tweed is Breeze Airlines.)

Avelo has been embroiled in controversy over its decision to contract with the federal government to operate deportation flights out of a different airport, in Arizona. Those deportation flights began earlier this month, and have led to protesters routinely traveling to Tweed to speak out against its flagship budget airline. The New York Times, meanwhile, recently reported on a New Hampshire lawmaker buying advertisements on billboards near Tweed reading ​“Just say AvelNO.” Lawyers from the airline, citing the similarity of its trademark on the billboard, accused him of trademark infringement and unfair competition. As of Tuesday, there was no sign of the billboards. 

Despite the silence on its participation, Avelo Airlines was at the career fair, at a table in the back corner, where a representative shared information about job openings in customer service and for ramp crew members. 

An airport official said the representative was not a spokesperson for Avelo Airlines. The airline declined to comment on why it had not indicated it would be among the employers at the career fair.

The storm surrounding the airlines, however, seemed secondary on Tuesday to the 158 job seekers and employers in attendance, who filled the space with an air of possibility and enthusiasm. 

At one table, Keyanna Vaughn was asking a New Haven Workforce Alliance representative about a part-time job on her way to a career in nursing. Vaughn came to the career fair as a member of the Youth Transitional Services Program.

“We work with young adults, ages 18 to 22, and we teach them life skills, we help them get career training for jobs, and then we help them with employment,” said Youth Transition Services coordinator Chaila Gilliams. The students she brought to the career fair, she said, ​“are looking to get a job, structure, build a resume, and make money, all toward realizing their career aspirations.” 

At another table, Tyra Stanley, director of employer engagement at New Haven Works, was engaging with Irene Johnson. ​“I’m a certified medical assistant, and I’m looking for a Plan B,” Johnson said, as she filled out paperwork signaling her interest. 

Stanley said she could help. ​“This is what we do, we build partnerships and relationships to help New Haven residents find career opportunities, not everyday jobs,” she said.

At the next table, a representative from Avports, an airport manager and operator, was sharing information about job openings for operations coordinators, maintenance technicians, and terminal operations controllers. ​“That’s to make sure planes are being parked correctly,” she said, as a young man nodded excitedly.

“I would love to do that,” he said. 

Nearby, Isenia Vargas, a human resources administrator for LAZ Parking was telling job seekers about openings for lot attendants, flaggers, and valets. 

“We have well over 20 jobs available all over New Haven,” she said, as applicants added their names and contact information to a long list. 

“We never had so many people,” she said. ​“A lot of promising candidates, and we love that.”