Union for Sky Harbor employees calls for investigation of alleged racial pay gaps
The union representing HMSHost employees at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport employees who have been on strike since Monday announced on Wednesday that it is calling for a federal investigation into alleged racial pay gaps among its workers.
Unite Here Local 11, a labor union that represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Arizona and Southern California, said it requested that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission look into "substantial disparities in hiring, promotion, and compensation along racial lines."
The union said it filed a 13-page complaint alleging in part that Black workers on average made 67% of the total earnings of white workers in 2019 and that Latinx workers took home on average 78% of the total earnings of white workers.
The calculations were made based on company data for employees whose race or ethnicity and compensation information was provided, the union said, adding that additional disparities were found and "have continued during the pandemic."
The union went on to say that the disparities "appear to be related to the disproportionate representation of white workers in better-paid jobs" and that white workers at HMSHost have been nearly 10 times more likely than Black workers to serve as bartenders or servers, which it said are desirable because they are tipped positions.
The vote to authorize the strike was held last week, with 97% of employees voting in favor of the measure. Workers are striking in search of better wages, health care benefits and retirement plans.
HMSHost is one of two companies that manage restaurants at the airport.
The airport on Monday said the strike was affecting less than 10% of the restaurants that would typically be open. HMSHost said passengers could expect more prepackaged foods and self-pay kiosks as the company does "whatever it takes to minimize any inconvenience over this busy holiday travel time."
The union in June filed an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that HMSHost management directed two Starbucks baristas to remove their Black Lives Matter masks. HMSHost settled the charge after a regional NLRB office began investigating the claims by saying it would not prohibit workers from wearing Black Lives Matter masks, the union said.
The same month, one of the employees who was directed to remove his mask filed a complaint to the City of Phoenix's Equal Opportunity Department alleging he "had been subjected to bigoted epithets" by customers on the basis of being gay and mixed-race, the union said.
The department responded that it "has a policy of deferring worker complaints against companies to other agencies," the union said.
A 2020 report issued by the union found that median pay for Black baristas at Starbucks locations operated by HMS Host in 27 U.S. airports was $1.85 less than for white baristas based on data between February and October 2019.
Sky Harbor deferred The Arizona Republic's request for comment to HMSHost, which did not immediately respond.
Reach the reporter at bfrank@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8529. Follow her on Twitter @brieannafrank.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Union for Sky Harbor workers on strike calls for federal investigation
