CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 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, union spokesperson Sean Keady said.

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.

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 between $12.50 and $19 an hour, union officials said.

“We’re on strike today because this is our last resort. We can’t keep living like this,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said in a statement. “We’re taking action because our families can’t survive.”

Several hundred workers were participating in the work stoppage. About 800 workers were affected by the union’s push for higher wages, but an exact number who walked off work was unclear, union spokesperson Ana Tinsly said.

Charlotte airport officials have said this holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers departing the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Airport officials said in a statement Monday morning that they were “monitoring and actively engaged with all partners to ensure terminal operations are not impacted.”