EUROPEAN TRANSPORT WORKERS FEDERATION: European airlines on notice: unions to demand action over reports of labour abuses in Flying Food Group supply chain
Aviation trade unions in Europe have committed to mobilising in support of over 1,000 Flying Food Group workers at SFO and LAX airports. At this week’s Section meeting, the ETF’s Civil Aviation Section passed a resolution after hearing from FFG workers and their union, UNITE HERE, to support their five-year struggle for a collective bargaining agreement. FFG workers provide catering services to numerous European carriers at LAX and SFO airports and are a critical part of their supply chains.
European Trade Unions Pledge Support for Flying Food Group Workers at LAX and SFO
On May 21, 2026, the European Transport Workers’ Federation’s Civil Aviation Section passed a resolution committing to mobilize in support of over 1,000 Flying Food Group workers at LAX and SFO, who have been struggling to improve their working conditions. The European trade unions involved represent workers at a majority of the airlines that source from FFG in Los Angeles and San Francisco, including Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Polish Airlines, KLM, ITA, Scandinavian SAS, TAP Air Portugal, and Cargolux.
The resolution was strongly backed by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), which is coordinating solidarity between UNITE HERE and global aviation unions including those in Europe. European aviation unions affiliated to the ETF and ITF will directly engage with airlines contracting with FFG at LAX and SFO, invoking their obligations under national and EU law.
98% of Private Suite workers voted YES to ratify their first union contract
Private Suite workers at LAX ratified a historic new contract that will give them $15 i raises over three years. By the end of the contract salaries for all 150 workers will be around $40-$50 an hour. Workers also won health care, pension, and tipped workers will be able to keep their tips that sometimes can be up to $1,500 in one day! Wow!
REPORT OF LOS ANGELES TRUTH COMMISSION ON LABOR ABUSES AT FLYING FOOD GROUP (LAX)
“What is happening at Flying Food Group is not a series of isolated incidents. It is a deeply rooted pattern of worker mistreatment and neglect. After hearing directly from employees, I am appalled by reports of unsafe and unhealthy working conditions that put workers’ lives at risk every single day. From serious fire safety violations to ongoing physical hazards across kitchen, transportation, and warehouse operations, workers are being forced to choose between earning a paycheck and protecting their own safety. No worker should ever have to report to a job where they fear being trapped in a cooler during a fire or losing access to basic healthcare without warning.” Click here for the full report.
Flying Food Workers go to City Hall
Workers at Flying Food Group went to Los Angeles City Hall to ask that their employer be held accountable.
A report recently found that Flying Food Group, which is licensed with the city of Los Angeles, violated its human rights commitments to workers who feed passengers traveling through LAX.
Sign the following petition!
LAX STANDARDS: Assessing Flying Food Group LLC’s Labor Practices Under Intyernational Labor Standards
“International labor standards also apply to safety and health, non-discrimination, and living wage requirements. They require policies to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses “by minimizing…the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.” They proscribe discrimination in employment “on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin” as well as sexual harassment in the workplace. They define a living wage as “the wage level that is necessary to afford a decent standard of living for workers and their families.” The report details complaints and cases related to these international labor standards. State authorities have cited FFG for multiple violations of safety and health regulations, and instances of two recent workplace fires within a four- month period are currently under investigation. FFG has also had to pay more than $1 million in back pay to workers for violation of the Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance and laws on job and wage protection for Covid-displaced workers.” Click here to read the full report.
San Francisco Standard: Chained shut: Airline food workers describe being locked in cooler as fire raged outside
The January fire was the latest in a string of alleged safety issues at Flying Food Group. Over the past five years, workers, their union, and state and federal agencies tasked with regulating the company have repeatedly raised concerns about working conditions at the LAX facility and others in San Francisco and Hawaii.
Compass Workers at the American Airline Lounges Vote to Authorize a Strike
American Airline Lounge workers employed by Compass Eurest at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport voted 100% to authorize a strike!
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.”