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FLYING FOOD GROUP

PRESS RELEASE: Third Woman Alleges Sexual Harassment Against Flying Food Group at LAX, File Complaints Againts Airline Catering Giant

These Complaints are latest in litany of legal complaints against FFG; labor dispute drags on

Inglewood, CA: A third woman has filed a complaint against Flying Food Group, an airline catering giant LAX following two other women who did the same last month. All three are alleging that Flying Food Group failed to protect them from sexual harassment and gender discrimination on the job

In November of last year, two women employees of Flying Food Group, Nelly Hernandez and Sandra Ruiz, filed charges with the California Civil Rights Department alleging that they were subject to repeated sexual advances by their supervisor, including in the form of sexual comments, inappropriate staring, and multiple instances of unwanted physical touching at work.

Earlier this week, Patricia Hernandez Marquez, a former employee of Flying Food Group, joined Miss. Hernandez and Ruiz by filing her own charges, which allege that the same supervisor harassed her while she worked for Flying Food and drove her to quit. 

The women are asking the Civil Rights Department to investigate Flying Foods Group’s practices, including whether the conduct they have alleged constitutes illegal discrimination under California law.

Nelly Hernandez stated, “My supervisor has caused me to feel unsafe at work.  I’m afraid to clean the upstairs areas by myself in case he’ll find me there.  I stopped wearing perfume to work after all his comments.  I decided that I needed to do something.  Others need to know what is happening and that they, too, can combat this kind of injustice in their workplaces.”

Sandra Ruiz said, “After all that my supervisor has done, I feel anxious just to see him at work.  I get headaches and stomach aches and have lost weight in recent months.  The stress I feel having to come into work every day is too much for me to handle some days. After I learned about my co-workers speaking out, I knew I wasn’t alone.  I decided I had to come forward and demand respect, too, so that this stops happening.”

“This is not the first time Flying Food has been accused of failing to protect its employees,” said Susan Minato, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, the union that represents all complainants. “Time and again, workers have raised complaints about sex discrimination and other issues to the company.  It’s time for Flying Food to own up to its responsibility to the workers and hold management accountable for this kind of behavior.  No woman should have to work under the kind of harassment Nelly, Sandra, and Patricia have described.”

“Sexual harassment and discrimination isn’t just humiliating to workers,” said Jennifer Reisch, supervising attorney for the University of California at Irvine’s Workers Law and Organizing Clinic, which filed the charges on behalf of Flying Food employees.  “It also can be a tool for employers to divide workers and undermine their efforts at organizing and building solidarity in the workplace.”

Workers at Flying Food Group have been embroiled in a labor dispute since April 2023, when they went on strike for 28 days. Since that time, labor negotiations have continued to drag on without an agreement. The company has also been at the center of numerous legal battles; last month, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board announced that it would be moving to trial on seven unfair labor practices charges filed against the company, while a dozen more unfair labor practice charges remain under investigation.  Flying Food Group also paid out $1.2 million in damages earlier this year to employees for failing to recall them in a timely manner after the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with the states’ Right to Recall law.

DAY FIVE OF THE FLYING FOOD GROUP ULP STRIKE

Meet Agustin Avila. Here’s why he’s striking against unfair labor practices & low wages. “The cost of living is going up but our wages aren’t.”  Sí se puede baby!

MARIA FAVELA ON STRIKE!

Flying Food Group catering workers are on strike, serving up demands for justice, a fair contract, and a stop to unfair labor practices!

STRIKE ALERT: Airline Catering Workers at Flying Food Group Walk Out on Strike

Workers walk out after allegations of federal labor violations and 9 months of failed contract negotiations

Inglewood, Calif. — Employees of Flying Food Group Inc. (FFG), a company that provides in-flight meals for many prominent international airlines at Los Angeles International Airport, went out on an unfair labor practice strike today. Cooks, porters and drivers walked out at 3 a.m. and began marching in front of the catering facility. Workers plan to hold picket lines day and night.

Tomorrow, workers will be on the second day of their strike and plan to continue it until their concerns are addressed.

Workers are striking to protest alleged unfair labor practices that FFG has committed in response to the workers’ campaign for a fair contract with decent wages and benefits. Employees have filed eight pending charges, including allegations that the company surveilled union activities, suspended an employee for his union activities and locked multiple emergency exit doors on a day workers planned a picket line protest.

“When I started working for FFG, I was paid only $8 an hour,” said FFG employee Olga Tirado, who has been with the company for 13 years and works in its cold food team. “Now I get paid $18.04 an hour, but it’s still not enough for my family and me to afford to live a dignified life in Los Angeles. And because the company refuses to provide us with pensions, I also worry about our quality of life in retirement.”

“I also feel unsafe and surveilled at work,” she continued. “As we have alleged in our complaints to authorities, one morning in early February the company locked multiple exit doors, including bolting at least one shut from the outside with a metal plate, on the same day that we had organized a peaceful picket outside our workplace. We only wanted to exercise our labor rights but it felt like our employer was getting in the way of that. We are striking because FFG must respect our rights and pay us a fair wage.”

“Airline catering workers serve the international tourists who visit our city year-round, and they will serve the athletes and travelers who come here for the World Cup and the Olympics,” said Susan Minato, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, the union that represents FFG employees. “Our union is committed to making sure that ALL tourism workers make enough to live near where they work, can retire with dignity, and are treated with respect on the job. Flying Food Group is failing in all of these areas, and so these workers are on strike.”

On March 15, employees voted 99 percent in favor of authorizing a strike in protest of FFG’s alleged unfair labor practices and its contract offer. The move comes on the heels of similar actions by teachers and other service workers across the region fighting for better working conditions and against unfair labor practices.

FFG employs more than 350 workers at LAX who prepare and transport in-flight meals to the airplanes of more than a dozen major airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Air France and Lufthansa–and, beginning in April, the luxury Taiwanese airline Starlux. Last year, Flying Food Group earned $46 million in revenue.

Airline catering workers’ collective bargaining agreement with FFG expired last June, and a six-month extension produced little progress during negotiations.

Working Full Time and Functionally Broke

Airline Catering Workers at Flying Food Group Vote to Authorize Strike, 99% YES

Inglewood, Calif. — Employees of Flying Food Group Inc. (“FFG”), a company that provides in-flight meals at Los Angeles International Airport, voted today 99 percent in favor of authorizing a strike. 

The vote comes amidst a labor renaissance as teachers and other service workers across the region fight for better jobs. 

The workers’ primary contract demand is a significant raise to keep pace with the soaring cost of living. Some employees, the overwhelmingly majority of whom are people of color, earn only $18.04 an hour. 

Workers are also striking due to allegations that FFG locked multiple emergency exits to prevent workers from picketing and has not taken effective action to protect female employees from sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination.

“I will strike Flying Foods if we do not achieve a good contract for me and my family,” said Norma Reyes, 51, who sets up equipment for the catering company. “I cannot live on these poverty wages and feed my family.  We have also filed numerous complaints alleging FFG’s treatment of us violates the law. This company must change how they treat us. If it takes a strike to do this, I will strike along with my coworkers.”

“When multiple doors were bolted shut on the day of our picket, it felt like the company was treating us like animals and was trying to interfere with our union rights,” said Gary Duplessis, 62, a cook at the facility and a complainant to Cal/OSHA, “It was dehumanizing. We’re tired of being treated like this. If a strike is what we need to do to get FFG to respect our legal rights, we are ready. We are ready to do whatever it takes to get what we rightfully deserve.”

Evelin Flores, 37, who filed a sexual harassment complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, stated, “I voted yes because every employee deserves a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. After what my trainer did, I felt anxious and helpless. I have thought about leaving my job but I have five children and I have to provide for them. Together with my coworkers, I’m willing to strike for justice, for accountability and for a better life for my family and me.”

“Airline catering workers serve the international tourists who visit our city year-round, and they will serve the athletes and travelers who come here for the World Cup and the Olympics,” said Susan Minato, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, the union that represents FFG employees. “Our union is committed to making sure that ALL tourism workers make enough to live near where they work, can retire with dignity, and are treated with respect on the job. Flying Food Group is failing in all of these areas, and so these workers are ready to strike.”

FFG employs more than 300 workers at LAX who provide in-flight meals to more than a dozen major airlines, including Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa. Last year, Flying Food Group earned $46 million in revenue.

Airline catering workers’ collective bargaining agreement with FFG expired in June 2022, and a six-month extension produced little progress during negotiations.

March 2023 Union Victories