Airline food workers at Miami airport stage protest to demand higher wages
Dozens of LSG Sky Chefs union workers who prepare in-flight food and catering for airlines serving Miami International Airport held a protest on Wednesday, trying to rally public support for a wage boost to at least $20 an hour.
The demonstration came as the Miami metropolitan area continues to have the highest cost of living increase among big cities in the United States. Inflation in the Miami area spiked to 7.8% for the 12-month period ending in August, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was more than twice the latest national CPI of 3.7%.
The group of workers assembled outside Sky Chefs warehouses a few miles from Miami airport.
The union’s negotiations for a new contract with the company have floundered. About 900 of the Miami food workers have been working without a contract since the last one expired in 2016. A mediator has been involved in bargaining between Unite Here Local 355, which represents the workers and many others in the hospitality industry in South Florida, and Sky Chefs’ management. The union organized the protest.
Dozens of women wore red shirts emblazoned with the slogan “One job should be enough.” Chants, many in Spanish, said, “We want 20,” meaning $20 an hour. Right now many are paid less than $16 an hour.
Food preparer Maria Sanchez, 61, a Cuba native, was one of about 100 workers demonstrating. She said her rent increased this year from $1,800 to $2,700 a month.
“I came to achieve the American Dream, but have not been able to do so,” said Sanchez, who starts her work shift at 5 a.m.
A report by the union earlier this year, based on a survey of Sky Chefs’ workers surveyed between February and April, depicted their plight. The workers median pay was $15.50 an hour.
Nine of 10 workers said they do not have employer health insurance. Nearly a quarter of the workers said they needed public assistance in the past year including food stamps, taxpayer-funded healthcare, or Section 8 housing vouchers to help with rent. Also, 92% of the workers are renters, and more than 50% of them don’t earn enough money to consistently cover their rent, according to the union’s report.
The LSG group was owned by German airline Lufthansa until April, when an agreement was reached to sell the company to the European private equity group Aurelius. The sale hasn’t yet been finalized.
LSG Sky Chefs officials said in a statement they continue to negotiate with the union toward a new contract for the workers.
The company also contends its union workers don’t fall under the Miami-Dade County living wage law, because their services are provided to the airlines at Miami airport and the workers don’t directly serve county residents.
Sky Chefs officials said the Florida courts ruled in 2019 that local minimum wage ordinances are invalid.
“We have many employers who pay a minimum of $20 per hour without a law requiring them to do so,” said Wendi Walsh, secretary-treasurer of Unite Here Local 355, citing the Miami Marlins’ stadium workers.
