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Archive for category: PRESS RELEASES

PRESS RELEASE: UNITE HERE Local 11 Endorses Nithya Raman for L.A. Mayor, Calling for a City That Workers Can Afford to Live

Los Angeles: The politically powerful labor union, UNITE HERE Local 11 announced its endorsement of the mayoral candidate Nithya Raman who they believe will stand with working families, protect affordable housing and put the needs of Angelenos ahead of powerful corporate interests like Airbnb.

Brenda Mendoza, Laundry attendant at the JW Marriott L.A Live, member of UNITE HERE Local 11 said, “For 16 years, I have worked at the JW Marriott in Downtown Los Angeles, but I can no longer afford to live in the city where I was born, raised, and work. I was priced out of Koreatown and now live hours away in Apple Valley. I wake up at 2:30 in the morning, spend as much as four hours a day driving my family and myself to work, and sometimes get only three hours of sleep. I’ve watched more and more of my coworkers get pushed out of Los Angeles to Victorville, Lancaster, Bakersfield, and even farther away. Working people should be able to afford to live in the city we keep running every day. Nithya Raman has stood with workers like me on our picket lines, and I believe she will fight for us as mayor. I’m ready to fight for her, too, and help get Los Angeles out to vote. ¡Vamos con Nithya!”

The union says Nithya Raman will enforce the city’s laws on behalf of working people, not corporate landlords and donors, starting with housing.  Los Angeles has failed to enforce its existing short term rental regulations and ensure working people can afford to live in the communities where they work.

“Our members understand the stakes better than most. They clean the rooms, cook the food, serve the guests, and welcome millions of visitors who come to Los Angeles every year. Our members are the people who help make Los Angeles a world-class destination—and they deserve to be able to afford to live in the city they help make thrive.

That’s what this election is about: Who is Los Angeles going to work for? We need a mayor who will stand with the working people who keep this city running and who isn’t afraid to take on powerful corporate interests when they threaten our communities. Nithya Raman will fight alongside our members to protect working families, enforce our laws, preserve our housing, and hold corporations like Airbnb accountable when they take desperately needed homes off the market,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.

Nithya Raman, candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, said, “UNITE HERE Local 11 members make Los Angeles’s hospitality industry run, and they should be able to afford to live in the city that depends on their labor. I am deeply honored to have their endorsement and proud of the work we have already done together. Local 11 knows how to take on powerful corporations and win. As mayor, I look forward to taking our collective fight citywide: building the housing we need, creating good union jobs, and making City Hall answer to the people who live and work here instead of the corporations trying to buy influence over it.”

According to Better Neighbors LA’s 2026 Revenue/Housing Report, more than half of Los Angeles’ short-term rental market is noncompliant with city regulations. The organization estimates that the city could collect approximately $47 million per month in fines through enforcement of existing short-term rental law and would bring 1,000’s of units back into homes for residents.

Nithya Raman will stand up to the billionaire class and fight for housing as Airbnb has emerged as a major political spender in Los Angeles, pouring more than $19 million into political committees and efforts supporting candidates for office while pushing City Hall for more lenient short-term rental regulations, spending aimed at using the Olympics to further erode housing for Angelenos rather than protect it.

UNITE HERE Local 11  announced it was prepared to mobilize its army of members into the field on behalf of Nithya Raman. During the primary election, the union’s members and volunteers knocked on more than 300,000 doors, the largest ground operation in the state, making Local 11’s endorsement one of the most sought-after in city politics.

PRESS RELEASE: Lawsuit Filed Against Long Beach Yacht Club for Alleged Pregnancy-Based Harassment and Retaliation

Lawsuit alleges the Yacht Club’s executive chef surveilled pregnant employee’s bathroom breaks, publicly humiliated the expecting mother for requesting accommodations, and retaliated against her

Long Beach, Calif.: Julianne Perez filed a lawsuit against the Long Beach Yacht Club alleging that she endured sex-based harassment and retaliation while working at the private club. The lawsuit follows a complaint Ms. Perez filed with the  California Civil Rights Department in April, in which she alleged that the Yacht Club failed to correct the retaliation and harassment Ms. Perez she allegedly endured during her two pregnancies between 2023 and 2025.

According to the lawsuit, the Yacht Club’s executive chef insulted Ms. Perez’s work ethic when she requested shorter shifts because of her pregnancy and questioned whether such accommodations were necessary. The executive chef allegedly mocked Ms. Perez in front of kitchen staff after she extended her maternity leave in 2024 because she was struggling with post-partum depression. The complaint also alleges that the executive chef timed Ms. Perez’s restroom breaks when she was pregnant and scolded her if he thought she took too long. He allegedly scolded her so often that at times she urinated herself instead of using the restroom just to avoid discipline.

The lawsuit further alleges that Ms. Perez and fellow employees, including a former manager, reported the executive chef’s harassment to the Yacht Club’s Human Resources department on multiple occasions, but failed to take proper corrective action. The executive chef remains employed at the Yacht Club.

Ms. Perez was scheduled to return from maternity leave on August 5, 2026. However, according to the lawsuit, the Yacht Club’s failure to end the executive chef’s harassment of Ms. Perez forced her to resign from her
position two days before her scheduled return.

“I am filing this lawsuit to hold the Long Beach Yacht Club accountable and to stand up for every woman who has faced harassment or mistreatment in the workplace, especially during pregnancy. No woman should ever have to choose between protecting herself and her unborn child and keeping her job. I’m speaking up not only for myself, but in the hope that no other woman at the Yacht Club will ever have to endure what I did. I want accountability, I want change, and I want women to know they deserve to feel safe, respected, and protected at work.”

The Long Beach Yacht Club is a private club located on public land. Workers at the club are currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11 to secure the protections and dignified working conditions all workers, including pregnant women, deserve.

Ms. Perez is represented by Lauren Teukolsky of Teukolsky Law and Jeremy Blasi of UNITE HERE Local 11.

BREAKING NEWS: Workers File New Safety Complaint on Alleged Maggots, Mold, Cockroaches and Other Issues at LAX Caterer Flying Food Group

Complaint follows Cal/OSHA citations for multiple “serious” workplace safety violations

LOS ANGELES:  Workers have filed a complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), urging state inspectors to investigate allegations of unsafe or unsanitary conditions inside Flying Food Group’s airline catering facilities serving Los Angeles International Airport.

The complaint, filed on behalf of workers by UNITE HERE Local 11, alleges that employees have been exposed to a range of unsafe conditions—including what workers reported to be maggots, mold, and cockroaches, as well as inadequate soap and paper towels and excessive heat—inside facilities responsible for preparing thousands of airline meals. The union has submitted photographs, videos, and worker testimony and is calling for an expedited on-site inspection.

According to the complaint, in late June 2026, one longtime employee was allegedly ordered to open airline dish carts that had sat unopened for an extended period and discovered dishes covered in decomposing food, and what appeared to be mold, maggots, and flies, producing an overwhelming stench.  The worker allegedly suggested that the dishes be discarded, but was instead instructed by a supervisor to wash them because the dishes were needed for an upcoming flight. According to the complaint, the worker—who reported experiencing stomach pain, a headache, and a strange sensation in her nose while handling the noxious material—was not provided a mask or respirator to protect herself.

The complaint also alleges that workers have reported seeing what they believed to be cockroaches and other vermin in various parts of the facility—including in food preparation areas, near employee changing stations, near airline food carts, and inside the employee cafeteria.  The complaint cites California laws requiring that employers provide a safe workplace and take steps to prevent the entrance or harborage of insects, rodents or other vermin.

The complaint also alleges that bathrooms and handwashing stations have often lacked adequate soap or paper towels, forcing employees to search elsewhere before returning to prepare food. Additionally, the complaint raises concerns about the quality of food served to workers at the facility, including allegations of expired or stale bread, food contaminated by debris, and improperly stored food.

The complaint also describes dangerously high temperatures in the facility’s dish room. A longtime employee reports that heat and humidity regularly make the room feel like “being in a sauna,” allegedly causing fatigue, dehydration, and headaches, and that a coworker reportedly nearly fainted from the heat. According to the complaint, management has been made aware of the problem but has not been provided a solution. The complaint asserts that these and other incidents, taken together, indicate that the company lacks the effective injury and illness prevention program required by California law.

“No one should have to work around maggots, cockroaches, mold, and rotting food just to earn a paycheck, as this complaint alleges,” said Susan Minato, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents the workers. “The workers who prepare meals for airline passengers deserve a workplace that meets the most basic standards of cleanliness and safety. We ask Cal/OSHA to take these issues seriously and investigate immediately.”

A Record of Safety Violations

Flying Food Group’s LAX operations have a long record of alleged safety violations. Most recently, in May 2026, Cal/OSHA issued the company six citations, including four it termed “Serious.”  Two of the serious violations related to the company’s failure to ensure that cold storage rooms at two LAX facilities could be utilized safely and opened from the inside. In August 2023, Cal/OSHA had cited the company for the same storage room entrapment hazard—as part of a six-violation citation that also included bolting an exit door shut from the outside on the day of a planned worker picket line—but the company apparently did not correct the hazard.  This led to a near tragedy during a fire in January 2026 in which two workers were found inside a cooler room whose entrance door had been chained shut from the outside. These citations and a summary are available here.

The complaint comes amid an ongoing labor dispute between Flying Food Group and UNITE HERE Local 11 over conditions at the company’s LAX facilities. In the course of that dispute, the union has proposed multiple workplace safety protections which Flying Food Group has rejected.

Flying Food Group is an airline catering company that provides in-flight meals for international airlines flying out of LAX like Lufthansa, Air France, SWISS Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA, Starlux, China Southern, Qantas, Air New Zealand, and Hawaiian Airlines.  LAX authorities recently gave FFG only a six-month extension—terminating at the end of 2026—to its license to operate at LAX.  The City has launched an investigation into the Company’s safety and labor practices.

ANNOUNCEMENT: California Labor Commissioner’s Landmark $2.75 Million Anaheim Marriott Settlement Addresses Alleged Violations of the State’s Right to Recall Law Protecting Hospitality Workers Laid Off During the COVID-19 Pandemic

UNITE HERE Local 11 held a press conference to announce a $2.75 million settlement with the Anaheim Marriott to resolve a citation against the Anaheim Marriott alleging that the hotel violated state law by failing to timely offer available positions to eligible former employees laid-off during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The settlement follows complaints filed by workers under California’s Right to Recall law. Enacted in 2021 as Senate Bill 93, the law requires covered hotels, event centers and other hospitality businesses to offer available positions to qualified former employees laid off for reasons related to the pandemic, based on seniority.

The California Labor Commissioner’s Office conducted an investigation in response to complaints alleging violations of the law. Anaheim Marriott workers who filed complaints included servers, cooks and room attendants.

PRESS RELEASE: As L.A. City Investigation Continues, Serial Lawbreaker Flying Food Group Quietly Moves to Repay Dozens of Workers It Failed to Provide Required Healthcare Benefits in Apparent Violation of LAX Living Wage Law

LOS ANGELES — As the City of Los Angeles continues investigating Flying Food Group for alleged violations of the LAX Living Wage Ordinance, the airline caterer has begun quietly paying dozens of workers after city investigators uncovered an additional apparent violation involving required healthcare benefits.

In March of this year, workers filed a complaint with the City of Los Angeles alleging that Flying Food Group’s newly implemented healthcare plan failed to satisfy the LAX Living Wage Ordinance’s healthcare benefit requirement, which currently requires employers to provide qualifying health benefits valued at $7.65 per hour or pay the equivalent amount in additional wages. Workers contend the company’s health plan is worth less than the required amount, leaving nearly all 800 workers underpaid. That investigation remains ongoing.

During the course of the investigation, however, the City’s Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA) uncovered a separate violation. Investigators found that Flying Food Group failed to provide any healthcare credit at all to some workers, resulting in an underpayment of $7.65 per hour for every hour worked.  It appears the violation primarily affected newly hired employees but also included several longtime workers.

“The number of times this company has failed to pay workers what we are owed or done something else to break the law is just crazy. These payments show me the company had the money to pay us all along. That is a company that does not respect us or value us,” said Pascual Salgado, a worker at Flying Food Group

After BCA notified Flying Food Group of the violation, the company began issuing payments to affected workers last week, with individual payments reportedly ranging from several hundred dollars to approximately $14,000. Flying Food Group has since submitted a list of workers it says have been paid, and BCA is now reviewing whether all affected employees were included and whether the payment amounts fully compensate workers for what they are owed.

Flying Food Group has violated the Living Wage Ordinance on multiple occasions previously, with multiple “notice of corrections” issued to the company and its subcontractors by BCA and two class action lawsuits, and the company agreeing to paying millions in back wages to workers. The company has twice sued the City, claiming the Living Wage Ordinance did not apply to them, and in the last instance, the settlement agreement included a commitment by the company that they would not make such a challenge again.

The discovery marks the latest alleged labor law violation involving Flying Food Group. In addition to the past violations of the Living Wage Ordinance, the company has also received citations or settled complaints with Cal/OSHA, the California Labor Commissioner, the National Labor Relations Board and the California Highway Patrol..

Flying Food Group is an airline catering company that provides in-flight meals for international airlines flying out of LAX like Lufthansa, Air France, SWISS Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA, Starlux, China Southern Qantas, Air New Zealand, and Hawaiian Airlines. Flying Food Group was recently given only a 6-month license extension by the City of Los Angeles which lasts until the end of 2026.

BREAKING NEWS: Airline Caterer Flying Food Group with Record of Worker Abuse Receives “Yellow Card,” Placed on 6-Month Probation by City of LA

LOS ANGELES, CA.  In the wake of numerous complaints about worker safety and other abuses, the body that runs LAX – Los Angeles World Airports or “LAWA” – has decided to put a major airline caterer for international flights, Flying Food Group, on a status akin to probation.

Companies serving LAX must obtain a special permit called a Certified Service Provider License from the City.  Complying with worker protections is a condition of such licenses, which have historically been granted for periods of five years.

Flying Food Group has been embroiled in controversy for years, as five different government agencies issued citations or complaints against the company for issues ranging from paying workers less than the minimum wage to serious safety hazards.

In response to persistent complaints from workers, LAWA has now decided to deny FFG an ordinary five-year license, and instead issue the company a conditional term for a period of just six months.  It is expected that LAX will continue an ongoing investigation of FFG’s record during this period to determine whether the conditional license should be continued.

Given this development, major airlines that have been sourcing from FFG–including Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, Air France, Lufthansa, Swiss Airways, ANA, Japan Airlines, and Qantas–may need to look to alternative suppliers for their inflight meals.

Serving the airport is a lucrative business, with Certified Service Provider License holders collectively making close to a half billion dollars a year. Flying Food Group is one of the highest-grossing of these companies, making $112 million in revenue in FY 2025.

In April 2026, the Board of Airport Commissioners granted LAWA staff the authority to approve new 5-year terms for all 77 firms that have entered into Certified Service Provider Licenses.  LAWA staff  created three categories for license renewal: five-year renewals for low risk companies and industries, one-year renewals for companies and industries with higher risk and six-month probationary renewals that require more in-depth review.

LAX placed Flying Food Group in the final category, which workers have taken to calling the “penalty box.”  The move follows years of worker complaints to City leaders by Flying Food Group workers, who have raised concerns about alleged wage theft, retaliation, sexual harassment, and other issues at 48 LAWA meetings.

Over the last several months, two separate reports have detailed the company’s long record of labor abuse: one report co-authored by the former Deputy Director General of the International Labor Organization–and another report endorsed by a Truth Commission of major labor and civil rights leaders and experts.

Most recently, last month Cal/OSHA issued the company four new citations it deemed “serious,” including two citations for failing to ensure that workers could exit cold storage rooms–a hazard for which it was previously cited and which led to a near tragedy during a fire in January in which two workers were found in a cooler room that had been locked from the outside.

Workers and labor leaders reacted to the decision as a positive step in the efforts to hold City licensees accountable for worker abuse, while at the same time urging the City to LAWA and Mayor Karen Bass to now revoke Flying Foods Group’s conditional license.

Elisa Valencia, a worker at Flying Food Group, said:
“I am glad the City has taken this step to begin to hold FFG accountable. We work hard serving travelers and we deserve to work in conditions that do not endanger our lives.”

Susan Minato, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11, said:
“No company is above the law. For years, Flying Food Group workers have courageously spoken out about unsafe conditions, wage theft, and a culture that puts profits ahead of people.  We’re now finally seeing the City begin to listen to their cries for help.  But while this is an important first step, the truth is that this company has committed more ‘red cards’ at this point than any we’ve ever seen and they have no business operating at LAX.”

The City of Los Angeles has already issued six determinations finding Flying Food Group or its subcontractors in violation of the airport minimum wage ordinance and is currently investigating an additional complaint. Since 2017, the company has settled two wage theft class-action lawsuits totaling more than $4.5 million.

Today’s decision represents a significant step forward for airline catering workers who have spent years demanding safer workplaces, legal compliance, and accountability from one of LAX’s largest service providers. Workers will continue to organize until full accountability is reached.

BREAKING NEWS: DAYS BEFORE WORLD CUP, SOFI STADIUM WORKERS WIN HISTORIC CONTRACT — AND RESERVE THE RIGHT TO STRIKE IF ICE THREATENS SAFETY

UNITE HERE Local 11 reaches tentative agreement with Legends Hospitality covering 2,000 food and beverage workers at SoFi Stadium. Workers retain the unprecedented right to strike if ICE or other federal immigration agencies threaten their safety during the World Cup. Workers will vote to ratify on Wednesday. Full details to be released following ratification.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just days away, UNITE HERE Local 11 announced tonight a tentative agreement with Legends Hospitality covering approximately 2,000 food and beverage workers at SoFi Stadium. The tentative agreement secures massive wage increases, landmark job protections, and groundbreaking privacy rights. Notably, it includes an explicit right to strike if ICE or Border Patrol activity at the worksite threatens worker safety—a provision legal experts say is unprecedented in modern American labor history.

The contract will expire on April 30, 2028, aligning with over 100 other stadium, hotel, and airport concessions contracts that expire before the Olympics.

Key Improvements:

  • Historic wage increases: The largest increases for stadium workers in history, with significant premiums for World Cup and Super Bowl events.
  • Workforce Housing Fund: Legends will make a multimillion dollar contribution to fund to develop housing for hospitality workers.
  • Landmark Job Protections: A 75% reduction in subcontracting over the life of the agreement, enforced by an industry-first penalty mechanism.
  • Restrictions on AI and Automation: No new self-checkout, kiosks, or cashier-less technology can be deployed, safeguarding jobs.
  • Groundbreaking Privacy Rights: Workers cannot be forced to surrender Social Security numbers, immigration status, or country of origin for accreditation of mega events like the World Cup. FIFA’s accreditation demands are prohibited by the contract.
  • Unprecedented Right to Strike: Workers have the contractual right to walk off the job if the Union determines in good faith that federal immigration agency actions threaten worker safety during a World Cup match.

“These workers are heroes. They stood up to FIFA. They stood up to ICE. They won a historic contract, and they are ready for whatever comes during the World Cup. If federal immigration agencies threaten workers’ safety, our members have the right to walk off the job. That is now in their contract,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President, UNITE HERE Local 11.

BREAKING NEWS: SoFi Stadium Workers Vote 96% to Authorize Strike Days Before FIFA World Cup Inbox

LOS ANGELES — SoFi Stadium cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, concessions workers, and food attendants have voted 96% in favor of authorizing a strike, meaning workers could walk off the job at any moment if their demands are not met. Negotiations are scheduled to continue Monday ahead of the USA v. Paraguay match on June 12th.

Living wage: Pay that reflects the true cost of living in Los Angeles, including premium pay for World Cup and other mega-events, and payment to a housing fund to build housing for hospitality workers.

Limits on AI, technology, and subcontracting: Strong protections against the erosion of union jobs through unimpeded subcontracting and technology and automation

Right to strike if ICE comes to the workplace: Workers must have the right to walk off the job if federal immigration enforcement enters the stadium and creates a reasonable fear for their safety — no worker should have to choose between their job and their freedom.

Contract negotiations with stadium food service operator Legends Global and FIFA have not had significant progress on key economic and workplace safety issues.

Cesar Zamora, Bartender, SoFi Stadium (5 years): “I’m a lifelong soccer fan, and it’s heartbreaking to see that just days before one of the biggest sporting events in the world, our employer is refusing to provide the wages, protections, and contract we need to support our families. The FIFA World Cup will generate enormous profits, but we are still fighting for basic respect and security. We deserve better, and if that means going on strike, I’m ready.”

Yolanda Fierro, Suites Runner, SoFi Stadium (6 years): “I’m one of the thousands of workers behind every meal prepared, every drink served, and every guest experience at the World Cup. Fans from around the world will come expecting an unforgettable event, and we take pride in making that happen. But no worker should have to fear being separated from their family or worry about dangerous ICE activity while simply doing their job. We deserve to feel safe, respected, and protected at work. If our voices continue to be ignored, I’m ready to strike.”

Kurt Petersen, Co-President, UNITE HERE Local 11: “SoFi Stadium cooks, bartenders and dishwashers are the true heroes of this World Cup, standing up to FIFA’s greed while defending their community against ICE intimidation. What good is the World Cup for Los Angeles when workers don’t earn enough to pay the rent and must choose between showing up and being kidnapped by ICE? If we’re forced to strike, those $100,000 FIFA suites will have nothing but bottled water and Doritos.”

In addition, the ACLU of Southern California, UNITE HERE Local 11, and LAANE have filed a formal complaint with the California Privacy Protection Agency and the California Department of Justice, calling on Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate FIFA’s accreditation process over concerns that workers’ sensitive personal information may be shared with federal agencies.

PRESS RELEASE: Tom Steyer Becomes First Gubernatorial Candidate Calls for ICE Out of FIFA World Cup Alongside SoFi Stadium Workers

Inglewood,  CA:  With less than a month away from the World Cup, the cooks, dishwashers, bartenders, who cook the food and make the drinks for Sofi Stadium held a press conference with Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer ahead of negotiations.

“This summer’s World Cup should be an opportunity to show the world what makes California special – not a way for the rich to get richer on the backs of working Californians who are being priced out of their communities and terrorized by ICE,” said Steyer. “Together with UNITE HERE, I am calling on FIFA and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment to publicly commit that ICE will play no role in the 2026 World Cup, that workers will receive fair wages and safe working conditions, and that organizers will help fund affordable workforce housing for the people who make these events possible. If elected as the next governor, I will protect Californians and ensure that major international events serve the public good. I’m proud to stand with workers and immigrant communities this summer and beyond.”

“Thank you to gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer for being here and demonstrating leadership on this issue. Now more than ever, we need leaders who have the courage to stand up to ICE and protect our families!” said Issac Martinez, cook at Sofi Stadium and member of UNITE HERE Local 11.

Advocates have also called for Attorney General Bonta to immediately investigate FIFA’s accreditation process, which a complaint filed last week alleges violates the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and workers’ right to privacy under the California Constitution.

“We have been very clear, we want ICE OUT of the World Cup and for them to play NO ROLE during the games. We are seriously concerned that FIFA will hand over our most sensitive personal information and waive our rights under California law, or lose our job working the World Cup. We will not give FIFA the opportunity to share our data with any third party, including ICE and foreign countries’ intelligence agencies. We cannot celebrate the World Cup while workers, tourists, immigrant families, and local communities are made to feel unsafe. Los Angeles should be a city of welcome — not fear.” said Yolanda Fierro, Suites Runner at Sofi Stadium and member of UNITE HERE Local 11.

There is no real guarantee that ICE will not be a part of the World Cup, and workers have made the demand that in order for them, fans, and players to feel safe, a key part of their negotiations is for: FIFA to demand that ICE and Border Patrol play no role in the World Cup. FIFA must ensure that SoFi Stadium workers enjoy fair working conditions.

The union is simultaneously calling on FIFA and KSE, the stadium’s ownership group, to publicly declare that ICE play no role in the 2026 World Cup.

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.”