CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Workers who clean airplanes, remove trash and help with wheelchairs at Charlotte's airport, one of the nation's busiest, went on strike Monday during a busy week of Thanksgiving travel to demand higher wages.

The Service Employees International Union announced the strike in a statement early Monday, saying the workers would demand “an end to poverty wages and respect on the job during the holiday travel season.” The strike was expected to last 24 hours, said union spokesperson Sean Keady.

Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a hub for American Airlines. The two companies contract with American, one of the world's biggest carriers, to provide services such as cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs.

American doesn’t expect “any significant disruption” to its flights this week as a result of the strike, the company said in a statement. More than 30 American flights at the Charlotte airport — about 4% of the airline's flights — were delayed at midafternoon Monday, according to FlightAware, which isn’t out of the ordinary.

Workers say they previously complained that they can't afford basic necessities, including food, housing or car repairs. They described living paycheck to paycheck while performing jobs that keep planes running on schedule. Most of them earn $12.50 to $19 an hour, union officials said.

Those workers should make $22 to $25 an hour, said the Rev. Glencie Rhedrick, of Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, at an SEIU Airport Workers United rally across from the airport. She was joined by striking employees and advocates, many raising signs that read, “Respect Black and Brown workers” and “Respect, Protect, Pay Us.”

“We cannot live on the wages that we are being paid,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said at the rally. “I can honestly say it's hard every single day with my children, working a full-time job but having to look my kids in the eyes and sit there and say, ‘I don’t know if we're going to have a home today.'”

At some airports in the Northeast, workers make more because of local wage ordinances, said Chris Baumann, a regional director for the union. But that's not the case in some Southern cities like Charlotte, he said, so workers are “asking the contractors to step up and do the right thing.”

ABM said in a statement Monday that it would take steps to minimize the strike's impact on travelers. There are avenues for employees to communicate issues, the company said, including a national hotline and a “general open door policy for managers at our worksite.”