Burbank Airport workers picket on first day at new terminal to demand that Marshall Retail Group offers to retain all existing retail workers
Burbank, Calif.–The new terminal at the Hollywood Burbank Airport was set to open today with concessionaire Marshall Retail Group poised to take over retail operations. The day of the opening, workers are sounding the alarm over Marshall’s failure to keep the airport’s existing retail workforce.
From the beginning of the bidding process, the Commission governing the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority made it clear that retaining current airport employees was a priority. It voted to award Marshall’s bid to take over retail concessions after being told that all current workers would be retained.
However, workers report that Marshall has hired unbadged outsiders and not offered employment to the majority of veteran security-badged staff. In failing to keep most of the outgoing concessionaire’s employees, Marshall has relied in part on what appears to be a drafting error in its concession agreement with the airport. The purpose of the worker retention requirement is to ensure the retention of the airport’s existing workforce, and to avoid dislocation of employees during the transition. Marshall’s conduct undermines this purpose.
“When I learned that Marshall would not automatically retain me, I applied twice for a position with them and still have not received a job offer. I rely on this job to pay my bills, and I’m not sure what I would do without it,” said Diego Rosales, a current retail employee at the airport who has yet to receive an employment offer from Marshall.
“I have dedicated 20 years of my life to serving passengers at the Burbank Airport,” said Karla Williams, another employee. “I have always worked the morning shift so I can pick up my 7-year old daughter from school. Because Marshall hasn’t agreed to let me keep my shift, I am left in limbo. Meanwhile, the company struggles to fill open positions with people off the street who have no experience and no badge.”
“When the Airport Authority awarded Marshall Retail this valuable contract, it was told these workers’ jobs would be protected. Now most of them haven’t even received an offer. These are experienced, dedicated, hardworking people. They and their families deserve better,” said Robin Rodriguez, Organizing Director for UNITE HERE Local 11.
Workers are demanding that Marshall offer to retain all existing retail workers. The union has also sent a letter to the Airport Authority requesting that the Commission take steps to correct and conform the existing worker retention requirement to accurately reflect the Commission’s intended directives, and investigate Marshall’s conduct on worker retention to date.
Labor for Nithya! | ¡Estamos con Nithya!
Unions support Nithya Raman for mayor of Los Angeles! Local 11, the Carpenters, nurses, and many more have endorsed Nithya Raman because she isn’t afraid to take on the rich companies who have tried to buy our city.
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Sindicatos apoyan a Nithya Raman para alcaldesa de Los Ángeles! Local 11, los Carpinteros, enfermereras, y muchos más han endosado a Nithya Raman porque ella no tiene miedo ponerse de pie contra compañías ricas que han intentado comprar nuestra ciudad.
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ASU Workers File First Amendment Lawsuit Against Arizona State University
As students return to campus for a new school year, food service workers employed by Aramark at Arizona State University held a ‘Welcome Back’ picket at ASU’s Tempe campus. The picket come just a week after Local 11 filed a federal lawsuit against Arizona State University, the Arizona Board of Regents, and ASU President Michael Crow, alleging that university officials systematically violated their First Amendment rights by restricting workers’ ability to protest on and near ASU’s campus.
Letter from Local 11 Co-President Susan Minato to Captain Buschur and Greene County, Ohio Board of Commissioners Gould, Koogler, and Mays
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Save Our Jobs at Dana Point Inn!!
Workers at the Dana Point Inn are in danger of losing their jobs due to the Marina redevelopment. Workers have served guest for years on County-owned land and deserve to keep their jobs!
CAPITAL & MAIN: Did Los Angeles City Hall Blink by Delaying the Olympic Wage?
In the end, Elisa Valencia, who works for Flying Food Group, was left wondering what exactly happened to her vision for the future. She said she has been putting in serious overtime, sometimes working 13-hour days at the airline food company in order to keep up with the rising cost of living in Los Angeles.
Her wage is going to rise from $22.50 to $25 an hour this summer, a welcome first step toward some relief. But Valencia said knowing that the $30 figure was only two years off had made the thought of logging so many hours tolerable.
Now? “Four years away,” Valencia said. The idea of getting into an apartment large enough for her kids, she added, is once again on the back burner, lost to the larger struggle to keep life going in L.A