PRESS RELEASE: Airline Catering Workers Testify at Public Truth Commission on Working Conditions at LAX Facility

Workers serving international airlines speak out for the first time alongside labor and community leaders hosted by Holman United Methodist Church

LOS ANGELES, CA — This week, airline catering workers employed by Flying Food Group at Los Angeles International Airport publicly shared their experiences before a Truth Commission composed of community leaders at Holman United Methodist Church.

Over several hours of often emotional testimony testimony before the Commission, more than a dozen Flying Food Group workers and advocates described unsafe conditions, wage theft and poverty wages, sexual harassment, labor violations, and retaliation for speaking out.

Flying Food Group workers are responsible for preparing and packaging meals and beverages for international airlines including Japan Airlines, ANA, Lufthansa, and Air France—serving thousands of passengers traveling through LAX each day. Despite playing a critical role in global travel, many workers say their voices have long gone unheard.

Many workers described safety hazards, including a number than were the subject of citations from the state’s enforcement agency, Cal/OSHA.

“Water mixed with bleach splashed into my eyes, and I felt a severe burning sensation. I reported the incident to my supervisor, who told me to go to the restroom to wash my eyes, because the designated eyewash station was completely blocked by flight carts and, furthermore, did not contain the specialized water required for eye irrigation. My doctor told me that I could have gone blind if it had reached my cornea,” said Sonia Ceron, dishwasher at Flying Food Group for 8 years. “Flying Food Group is a company that does not value us; we deserve to feel safe. I hope that you, the commissioners, can hear us.”

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 citations by California Highway Patrol for operating heavy trucks without proper licenses and other issues; a citation by the California Labor Commissioner for violating the state’s post-Covid right-to-return-to–work law; and a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board for violating federal labor laws through threats, surveillance, interrogations and retaliation.  These citations and other complaints were presented to the Truth Commission over the course of the hearing.

Commissioners included Yvonne Wheeler, President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; Rev. William Smart Jr, President and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Southern California; Frank Lima, General Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Fire Fighters; Kevin Riley, Director of the UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program; Will Mitchell, District Director for California State Assembly District 61. Assemblymember Tina McKinnor; and Chloe Osmer, Executive Director of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, and leading authority on workers rights and wage theft.

Truth Commissioner Yvonne Wheeler, said: “I call on the City of Los Angeles not to renew the license of Flying Food Group. Get somebody else in. Through it all these workers showed their strength. Their fight is not just about one workplace. 
It’s about respect. It’s about dignity, it’s about justice, for all working people.”

Truth Commissioner Rev. William Smart Jr,  said, “ We cannot just hear a scared story, a scared story calls you into action,  we are called into action today! The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California will walk with you and fight with you and be there for you!”

Truth Commissioner Kevin Riley said  “What I saw in this room are workers demanding what the law already guarantees them and striving to hold an employer accountable to their legal responsibilities. You are sounding an important alarm — so that we don’t end up with our own Triangle Shirtwaist disaster. I applaud your courage in speaking out, and I stand with you in your efforts.”

Truth Commissioner Will Mitchell, said, ”What happens at LAX doesn’t stay at LAX,  it reflects the standards we are willing to accept for workers across California. Your voices have been heard and will be taken very seriously by Assemblymember McKinnor and her office.”

Truth Commissioner Chloe Osmer, said “We heard today from workers at Flying Food Group about the devastating impact of wage theft on their lives. We heard from workers about repeated violations by Flying Food Group of the Living Wage Ordinance in LA. It’s called Living Wage for a reason, because you can’t live on less.”

The Flying Food Group Truth Commission

Airline catering workers employed by Flying Food Group at Los Angeles International Airport publicly shared their experiences before a Truth Commission at Holman United Methodist Church. Hundreds of workers and community leaders came together to share powerful truths on safety, sexual harassment, and retaliation at the workplace . Fifteen speakers told their stories that had been waiting to be heard and shared. Tellingly, the church where we held the Truth Commission was the church where our beloved our Reverend James Lawson was the pastor.

BREAKING NEWS: On Eve of Trial, Flying Food Group Admits to Violating Worker Rights, in Settlement of Major Labor Case

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.

To read more, click here.

The day before Flying Food Group workers testified at LA City Council about the fire they experienced in their workplace in January, which coincidentally was the 115th anniversary of the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. This fire was one of the deadliest industrial disasters in U.S. history, causing the deaths of 146 garment workers—123 women and girls and 23 men. UNITE HERE is a proud successor union to the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, the union to which some Triangle factory workers belonged.

 

BREAKING NEWS: On Eve of Trial, Flying Food Group Admits to Violating Worker Rights, in Settlement of Major Labor Case

Airline caterer for international flights has also been cited for wage theft, unsafe conditions, and other labor violations, despite license to operate from City of Los Angeles

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:

  • Obstruct doors to discourage workers from participating in protected activities
  • Watch workers, or make it appear that workers are being watched, to find out about their union activities
  • Promise workers benefits to discourage them from supporting a union
  • Threaten workers with discipline because they engage in union or other protected activity
  • Solicit workers to sign petitions to decertify UNITE HERE Local 11
  • Ask workers if they have signed or wish to sign a petition to remove the Union
  • Actively solicit, encourage, promote, or provide more than ministerial aid in the initiation, signing, or filing of a worker petition to decertify the Union
  • Suspend or fire workers because of their Union membership or support
  • The first item relates to the Company’s locking of an exit door from the outside on a day that workers’ planned a peaceful protest, conduct which also resulted in a citation by Cal/OSHA.

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.

MAYOR BASS ADDRESSES THE FIRE AT FLYING FOOD GROUP

UNION VICTORY: THELMA GOT HER JOB BACK!

Thelma Cortez from Flying Food Group reported alleged repeated unwanted sexual comments, advances, and inappropriate conduct by a supervisor. She was disciplined twice and placed on an indefinite suspension, losing substantial overtime income, and later was informed by the company intended to terminate her.
But she fought and with the support of her union got her job back!
Last week she and two other silence breakers filed a complaint calling on the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA) and Human Rights Department to launch a full investigation into Flying Food Group, following allegations that the company retaliated against workers who reported sexual harassment and discrimination.

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!

Airline catering workers picket at LAX 12/17/25

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.

ABC 15 ARIZONA: Union alleges Sky Chefs employee retaliated against for blowing whistle on unsafe conditions

“Unite Here Local 11 says LSG Sky Chefs employee Filiberto Lares was suspended over a “safety issue” and given a warning. The suspension comes just weeks after Lares complained to city leaders that the AC was not properly functioning in their airline-catering trucks and the same day the union organized a protest at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.”

PHOENIX HEAT & SAFETY ORDINANCE

Earlier this month, Sky Chef workers testified to Phoenix City Council that their employer didn’t have working air conditioning units in their trucks. Workers driving to the airport to deliver food for flights, sit in 100+ degree heat sometimes for hours. Check out the full story at the link in our bio.