UNITE HERE local 11 represents hospitality workers in five major airports in Southern California and Arizona. We represent servers, baristas, cooks, bartenders and other concession and retail workers at LAX, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, John Wayne Airport, Long Beach Airport, and the Ontario Airport.
Our members work for HMS Host, SSP, Hudson News, Areas, Paradies, to name a few. We also represent airline catering workers who work for Sky Chefs and Flying Food Group.
BREAKING NEWS: On Eve of Trial, Flying Food Group Admits to Violating Worker Rights, in Settlement of Major Labor Case
In a highly unusual step, Flying Food Group was required to admit that it had violated workers’ federal labor law protections as part of the settlement. The outcome is considered a major victory for workers who have been speaking out about what they have alleged is abusive treatment at work.
To read more, click here.
BREAKING NEWS: On Eve of Trial, Flying Food Group Admits to Violating Worker Rights, in Settlement of Major Labor Case
Los Angeles: Today, Flying Food Group, an airline caterer for major airlines that has been at the center of controversy for allegations of unsafe conditions and labor abuse, agreed to settle a high-profile case at the National Labor Relations Board.
In a highly unusual step, Flying Food Group was required to admit that it had violated workers’ federal labor law protections as part of the settlement. The outcome is considered a major victory for workers who have been speaking out about what they have alleged is abusive treatment at work.
In December 2024, following a two year investigation, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board issued a multi-part complaint against the airline caterer alleging numerous labor violations. The case was set for trial on March 31, which will now be averted due to the settlement.
Under the settlement, after denying the allegations for years, Flying Food Group has admitted that it took part in an illegal effort to oust the workers’ union. Among other conduct, the company admits that multiple members of management interrogated workers about their union sympathies and activities and assisted in an effort to remove the union through a decertification campaign. This conduct occurred during or in the aftermath of a worker strike for better wages and conditions.
The Company also agreed to pay $50,000 to a worker whom the NLRB complaint accused Flying Food Group of firing because he participated in union activities and in order to discourage employees from engaging in those activities.
Finally, the settlement also requires that Flying Food Group refrain from engaging in a long list of violations of workers’ rights going forward – and, importantly, provides that if the Flying Food Group fails to comply with the settlement’s terms, the NLRB can reissue the complaint, deem all allegations admitted, and obtain a federal court judgment enforcing a full remedy — all without a trial.
The settlement also requires the Company to formally pledge to its employees that it fully respect workers’ rights under federal labor law going forward and will not do any of the following acts, among others:
The settlement is the latest of a long series of legal citations. Altogether, over the last several years, five different government agencies have issued citations or complaints against Flying Food Group for labor or safety violations. These include six citations by the City of Los Angeles for violations of the airport minimum wage by it or its staffing agencies six citations by Cal/OSHA for violations of workplace safety rules, 10 citation by California Highway Patrol for operating heavy trucks without proper licenses and other issues, and a citation by the California Labor Commissioner for violating the state’s post-Covid right-to-return-to–work law.
This is the second settlement the company has entered into since LAWA informed the company it was looking into allegations that “raised questions related to FFG’s trustworthiness, quality, fitness and capacity.” Last month, Flying Food Group also reached a settlement nearly three years after OSHA cited the company for illegally locking a door; as noted above, this issue was also included in the NLRB charges.
“I am so thankful that we are finally seeing some recourse for the violations this company has committed to our basic rights. It has been over three years since me and my coworkers have been fighting for respect, and there is still so much to go. But it is at least good to see the company has admitted to violating our rights,” said Monica Lira workers at Flying Food Group.
“The bravery and commitment workers showed despite working for a company like Flying Food Group is true inspiration. This company deserves to be held accountable for all of the wrongdoing and damage they have caused, and we are glad this settlement starts to do that, though there is still much to be done,” said Susan Minato, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.
As a next step, workers are planning to hold a Truth Commission on April 13th to talk about their experiences and the need to hold Flying Food Group accountable so that workers are safe and treated with dignity and respect.
CREWS LAX is told to pay workers over a million dollars in retro pay
After nearly 2 years of arbitration, Crews at LAX has been ordered to pay over $1 million to its employees in backpay. According to the contract ordered by the Arbitrator Crews workers wages will rise significantly along with their benefit contributions. Thanks to the perseverance and determination of these workers in their fight for justice and fair wages, they will now benefit from their two year long struggle.
MAYOR BASS ADDRESSES THE FIRE AT FLYING FOOD GROUP
MEET WORKER LEADER LUCIAN RAIU
Lucian is a leader who worked at Private Suites, a private terminal in LAX. He began organizing his coworkers to unionize in order to improve their working conditions and gain transparency regarding their tips. Lucian was subsequently fired. Instead of being discouraged, he felt even more empowered and continued organizing outside of work. Thanks to his leadership, nearly 100 new members were unionized. Lucian didn’t stop there and began working for the union as an organizer to unionize a second group of workers that the company refused to recognize. Thanks to his persistence and determination, the company has now agreed to recognize this second group of workers. Bravo, Lucian!
UNION VICTORY: THELMA GOT HER JOB BACK!
DOÑA SALUD GOT HER SHIFT BACK!
Doña Salud, who is 83, is returning to her morning shift!
Last year Flying Food Group gave Doña Salud a shift that ended at midnight, and as someone who is 83 and has to take multiple buses to get to and from work every day, it was tremendously exhausting.
After her dish department got together and organized a successful shift bid on her behalf, justice was served!
LAX Airport Workers Rally as LA City Council President Attempts to Lower Wages and Give Break to Airlines
In a shameful move, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson introduced legislation to take money from hard-working Angelenos and give the trillion-dollar airline industry a break
Airport workers at LAX who are members of SEIU-United Service Workers West and UNITE HERE Local 11 are sounding the alarm after Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson introduced a motion to substantially weaken the Olympic Wage Ordinance, which was passed by the City Council in May and survived a failed referendum effort paid for by airlines and hotel corporations.
Under the existing law, tourism workers are on track to reach $30 an hour by 2028, a long-overdue wage that reflects the high cost of living in Los Angeles and the essential work LAX workers do to keep our region’s economy running. Harris-Dawson’s new motion would delay those increases until 2030, effectively taking money out of workers’ pockets with the lowest paid full-time workers without health coverage losing nearly $35,000 as a result of the proposed shift and handing it back to billion-dollar airline corporations, while the airline industry is expected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time ever, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s financial projections. The motion also proposes creating major loopholes that would result in even further losses of healthcare and wages to airport workers and exclude hotel restaurant workers.
Workers call the move unprecedented, shameful, and a betrayal of the commitments the City made to the people who keep LAX running. Airport workers, many of whom struggled through the pandemic and continue to face compounding crises of rising rents, food prices, and transportation costs, are demanding that Council President Harris-Dawson immediately withdraw the motion, and that Mayor Karen Bass publicly affirm that she stands with airport workers, not corporate airlines.
FOX 11: Airline catering workers stage protest near LAX
Workers allege unsafe working conditions, broken equipment, locked doors that create fire hazards, and unfair wages. According to union leaders representing the LAX airline catering workers, the demonstration is part of the push to “hold Flying Food Group accountable.”
Thanksgiving Travel Alert: Hundreds of LAX Airline Catering Workers Call on City of L.A. to Hold Serial Lawbreaker Flying Food Accountable
Workers submit CalOSHA complaints alleging unsafe working conditions at Flying Food Group; company has previously been cited for safety and minimum wage violations
As tens of thousands of flights were scheduled out of LAX for the Thanksgiving holiday on Tuesday, the workers who prepare, package & deliver meals onto some of those flights called on the City of Los Angeles to hold Flying Food Group accountable for how it treats workers.
Flying Food Group operates with a city license to supply food for airlines like Air France, Lufthansa, Japan Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines. Los Angeles law requires that its licensees follow laws that protect workers & the public as a condition of maintaining a license.
Workers have repeatedly brought a number of problems to the attention of city authorities, but the mayor-appointed leaders of Los Angeles World Airports have failed to take meaningful action to enforce the City’s requirements for its licensees with respect to Flying Food Group.
Five different government agencies have issued citations or complaints against Flying Food Group over the last several years, including:
Multiple women have alleged they experienced sexual harassment on the job in pending complaints with California’s anti-discrimination agency, and most recently, Flying Food Group workers filed complaints with Cal/OSHA alleging they have seen a variety of health and safety problems, including the following: