Food workers end their strike at SF International Airport

KTVU

For now, picket lines of restaurant workers are gone at SF International Airport.

A thousand workers at San Francisco International Airport’s (SFO) restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and lounges have won significant raises and free family health care after shutting down most of the airport’s food and beverage outlets during a three-day strike. The strike ended Wednesday (Sept. 28) at midnight. 

Airport passengers and workers don't have to go hungry after a tentative deal for a new union contract was reached late Wednesday night by the hospitality workers’ union Unite Here Local 2 and the consortium of SFO airport restaurants; it was unanimously approved by the union’s bargaining committee of 80 airport restaurant workers. 

“This strike was so worth it to give my family a better life,” said Blanca Gay, a snack bar attendant at SFO for 30 years and member of the Unite Here Local 2 bargaining committee. “My son is in college, but he had to switch from full-time to part-time just so he could work. With the raises we won, I can help my son go back to school full-time. All the hard work and sacrifice of the strike has paid off for my family.”

The strike by the union, which includes a great number of AANHPI workers, had forced most of SFO’s food and beverage outlets to close, and passengers reported long lines for food and coffee at the few outlets that remained open.

The strike included a thousand cashiers, baristas, cooks, dishwashers, bartenders, servers, and lounge attendants at 84 food and beverage outlets throughout SFO. The majority make $17.05 per hour and had not seen a raise in three years. 

Details of the agreement will be released to the public following a ratification vote by the full workforce on Sunday, October 2.

“This victory shows the world that fast-food jobs can in fact be good, family-sustaining jobs, and it’s all because workers had the courage to strike,” said Anand Singh, President of Unite Here Local 2. “After three years without a raise, SFO’s fast-food workers were tired of working two or even three jobs just to survive – so they took their lives into their own hands and won a better future.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Food workers at SF International Airport strike for higher wages

SCREEN CAPTURE / KTVU

Many of the striking food employees walking the picket line are Asian American workers.

If you're planning in flying out of San Francisco International Airport today, expect long lines because of a strike by restaurant workers, hundreds of whom are Asian Americans.

About a thousand workers at SFO's restaurants, coffee shops bars and lounges are on strike Monday, Sept. 26. They say their wages have not kept pace with inflation and that some have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet.

“You shouldn’t have to strike for basic things like a good job and affordable health care, but workers at SFO are ready if that’s what it takes,” said Anand Singh, President of Unite Here Local 2. “After months of negotiations, employers still aren’t taking workers seriously, and we’re done with it.”

Travelers expecting meal before their flight or purchasing a snake for a flight should plan on bringing their own food, says a press release.

“Some food and beverage outlets are closed, while others remain open with limited hours and offerings,” says Doug Yakel, ​​the public information officer for SFO’s External Affairs Office. Online ordering for restaurants that serve at SFO such as Goldilocks Filipino Cuisine in Harvey Milk Terminal 1, is unavailable. Yakel says that souvenir shops that serve limited pre-packaged food are open.

Workers voted to strike in August. Since Sept. 16 there have been smaller demonstrations. 16. There is no predetermined end to the strike, say representatives of Unite Here Local 2 union.

Bloomberg reports that the union has posted several TikTok videos in which workers compare their pay — which is typically around $17.05 per hour — to the prices of food at their establishments. In one clip, a worker named Anthony says “we sell $21 margaritas and we’re getting paid $16 an hour.” In another, a woman named Vivian Narvarte who works at Pie Five Pizza and Ladle & Leaf Restaurant, said her hourly pay doesn’t cover the cost of a pizza and drink meal, which retails for over $21. 

“I’m a single mom living paycheck-to-paycheck,” said Margaret Manalo, a lounge attendant at SFO for seven years. “It’s my first time getting involved with the union ... because I want to push the employers to give us the wages and health care we need. One job should be enough to have a good life and provide food for your family.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.