LA City Council Votes NO on Millions in Relief to Airport Concessions Giant

Workers Applaud LA City Council Vote on Relief for Billionaire HMS Host

Los Angeles, CA: Today, the Los Angeles City Council stood with workers and unanimously voted down a relief and lease extension package for airport concessions giant HMS Host. The deal was estimated to be worth tens of millions in lease extension-related revenue and rent relief for HMS Host.

HMS Host workers install themselves outside Los Angeles City Hall

“I stand with hard-working Angelenos, and not multinational corporations that try to exploit them and steal their wages. I am happy to support struggling businesses at LAX that treat their workers properly, but refuse to offer that assistance to a company that has violated the living wage ordinance meant to protect LAX workers. I am proud that the City Council stands united in this effort,” said District 11 Councilmember Mike Bonin.

HMS Host at LAX worker Donisa Robinson shares her experience in a poster outside LA City Hall“I want to thank the Los Angeles City Council for standing with me and my coworkers. This pandemic has been devastating for many of us and to be seen and heard by our elected officials means so much to us,” said Donisa Robinson, a laid-off Sushi Chef at HMS Host.

After weeks of hearing from laid off airport workers about the devastating effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on workers and their families, the LA City Council once again did the right thing and stood by workers.

As detailed in a report released earlier this week by UNITE HERE Local 11, HMS Host is the largest operator of airport concessions in the United States. It is wholly owned by Italian corporation Autogrill, which increased its cash balance by 60% in the first six months of 2020. Its laid off workers say they are now struggling to survive, provide for their families, stay safe, and keep their housing.

“Thank you to the leadership of Councilmember Mike Bonin, Nury Martinez and the entire council for standing with laid off LAX workers today and not giving a massive and undeserved handout to HMS Host. We need more elected leaders willing to stand up to big corporations and the hospitality industry who since day one have been doing nothing but taking advantage of the pandemic to hurt workers instead of help them,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11.

Last week, HMS Host workers filed a class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to pay workers the minimum living wages for airport workers required by Los Angeles’s Living Wage Ordinance. The suit also alleges that HMS Host failed to pay workers their vacation time when it carried out a mass layoff in March and April 2020. California law requires employers pay employees all earned wages and accrued vacation time immediately upon layoff.