SAN FRANCISCO — Less than half of the workers preparing meals served aboard three airlines flying out of San Francisco International Airport can afford the health care plans offered by their employers, union officials said Saturday.
“I prepare food and beverage for some of the world’s biggest airlines, but I have to go to a free clinic because my company insurance is so expensive that I can’t afford it,” Roberto Alvarez, who loads airline carts full of food and beverages at one of the two San Francisco International Airport kitchens that held strike votes this week, said in a news release.
Unite Here Local 2, the hotel and restaurant workers’ union of San Francisco and San Mateo counties, announced Saturday that about 1,500 workers — or 99.8 percent of the union’s members — voted this week to authorize a strike when released by the National Mediation Board.
The employees work for LSG Sky Chefs and Gate Gourmet — subcontractors providing meals for United, Delta and American Airlines flights departing from SFO.
The vote by SFO employees was part of a national contract negotiation by thousands of airline catering workers across the country. Employees in 21 cities are taking part in a strike vote that will culminate on Friday, according to union representatives.
The decision to authorize a strike was made as a result of a growing crisis around airline catering workers’ health care and wages. Many of the union members live in poverty and cannot afford health care, according to union representatives.
The median wage for the airline catering workers is $18.66 per hour, according to the union news release. Union representatives estimate that less than half of the catering employees at SFO are covered by health care, and just 10 percent had a child or family member covered, the news release states.
LSG Sky Chef officials said in a statement Saturday that they had not confirmed whether the union had requested a release for the strike from the National Mediation Board, which is necessary before a strike can take place.
Sky Chef is negotiating in good faith with the workers, according to the company’s statement.
“Our company values the hard work and dedication of our team members,” the statement reads. “Wages, as well as other benefits, including vacations, uniforms and company provided meals, as well as health and welfare, are subject to the collective bargaining process between our company and their union representatives.”
Gate Gourmet spokeswoman Nancy Jewell said in an email Saturday night that the negotiations process “can be lengthy.”
“In the meantime, we operate under the Railway Labor Act, which preserves the current terms and conditions of our existing National Master Agreement labor contract and prevents operational disruptions,” Jewell said in the statement.
More information and strike vote status are available at AirportStrikeAlert.org.
