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AGI Cargo Employees Filed Wage Theft Complaints

Three airport workers claim they are owed $13,200 in unpaid wages at Miami International Airport.

Updated on Oct. 5, 2026 in Air Travel

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of an industrial airport cargo hangar silhouette, symbolizing labor and wage disputes in the aviation industry.
Three AGI Cargo employees have filed wage theft complaints against the company, alleging $13,200 in unpaid wages at Miami International Airport. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Three employees at AGI Cargo have filed formal wage theft complaints against the company after allegedly being denied proper overtime and waiting pay. The workers, who operate at Miami International Airport, claim their employer failed to pay $13,200 in wages owed.

Why it matters

The dispute highlights the clash between Miami-Dade County’s local wage mandates and a new Florida law that limits a city or county's ability to set higher pay standards for airport contractors. This leaves many airport workers navigating a complex legal landscape regarding their compensation.

Three workers filed complaints for $13,200 in total unpaid wages, including $3,033 for one individual. This comes as contractors at MIA balance the Florida state minimum of $15 against the county's $22.53 mandate, with the legal validity of those local rules now being tested.

The players

Carlos Builes

An AGI Cargo employee who claims he is owed $3,033 in unpaid wages.

Sarah Andrews

A representative for AGI Cargo who has denied the allegations of wage theft.

The details

The workers allege that AGI Cargo, which employs 900 people at MIA, uses split shifts and lower overtime pay rates to avoid full compensation. A company representative, Sarah Andrews, has denied the allegations. This comes as airport staff protest a new Florida law effective September 30, 2026, which restricts local governments from mandating wages above the state minimum for contractors.

Timeline

  1. September 30, 2026: Florida law restricted local wage mandates for airport contractors.

  2. October 3, 2026: Three AGI Cargo employees filed formal wage theft complaints.

  3. October 5, 2026: Airport workers rallied at Miami International Airport.

Beyond the 305

This dispute tests the reach of the new Florida law banning local governments from setting wage floors for contractors. It follows a pattern of tension between Miami-Dade’s local pay mandates and state-level efforts to standardize labor regulations across Florida.

Workers at MIA face uncertainty as the new state law limits the enforcement power of local county wage mandates. Those with concerns about their own pay should monitor how the county's wage theft office handles these pending claims following the recent legislative change.

The takeaway

The wage theft claims underscore the ongoing friction between local protections and new state-wide labor restrictions. Watch for the county's response to these filings, as it could set a precedent for how other contract employees seek redress under the new law.

Further reading

For more on the labor environment at our regional transit hubs, visit our Air Travel section.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Axios.

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Should local governments be allowed to require contractors to pay higher wages than the state minimum?