LAX catering workers to picket Wednesday for better wages, health care

More than 700 airline catering workers at Los Angeles International Airport plan to picket Wednesday, July 3 as they lobby for higher wages and more affordable health care.

The LSG Sky Chefs employees, who prepare, pack and deliver food and beverages served aboard flights for American, Delta, United and other airlines, are represented by Unite Here Local 11. They recently filed a formal complaint with the Los Angeles Bureau of Contract Administration alleging LSG Sky chefs has violated the city’s living wage ordinance. The BCA is investigating.

Wednesday’s “One Job Should Be Enough” picket is intended to raise awareness about the workers’ concerns. It begins at 2:30 p.m. on the airport’s upper level between Terminal 4 and Tom Bradley International. Workers will march through Tom Bradley International and Terminal 2 before winding down at 5 p.m.

“We expect to hit critical mass starting at around 3,” Unite Here spokeswoman Marie Hernandez said. “We’re expecting 100 to 150 members to show up. Given that people will be trying to fly out for the Fourth of July weekend, it will be crazy.”

No disruption is expected

Rod Pedregon, a spokeman for the airport police at LAX, figures the picketing will remain civil.

“We don’t anticipate any problems,” he said. “We have a very good relationship with these organizers and we speak to them on a regular basis. They understand what they are allowed to do, and we understand what we need to do. Everyone wants to keep the airport running, and we have resources in place if there are problems.”

Employees will not stop work until authorized by the government, the union said. The Railway Labor Act prohibits them from legally striking without a formal release from the National Mediation Board.

LSG has maintained it “values the hard work and dedication of our team members” and is in negotiations regarding its collective bargaining agreement with the union.

“We are continuing to negotiate in good faith,” the company said in a recent statement.

More than 11,000 vote to authorize a strike

The LSG employees voted June 13 to authorize a strike. Strike authorization votes among catering workers at other airports represented by Unite Here, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have since come in. Collectively, they comprise the largest such vote ever to occur in the U.S. airline catering industry, with more than 11,000 workers voting in 28 cities.

Sky Chefs pays most employees less than $15 an hour, the union said, including some workers who have been on the job for more than 40 years. Many go without health insurance because they can’t afford the $500 monthly premiums to enroll in family healthcare plans, union officials said.

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