LOS ANGELES — Chanting “Flying Foods escucha! Estamos en la lucha!” (Flying Foods listen! We’re in the fight!), Flying Food Group workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 11, picketed in front of their workplace here April 28. Then they led a 50-car caravan through nearby Los Angeles airport.
The company employs more than 350 workers at LAX preparing and transporting in-flight meals to more than a dozen airlines. On March 15, the workers rejected the bosses’ contract offer and voted 99% to authorize a strike.
“Now I get paid $18.04 an hour, but it’s still not enough for my family and me to afford to live a dignified life in Los Angeles,” said Olga Tirado on the union website. She has worked at Flying Food Group for 13 years and is in its cold-food team. “And because the company refuses to provide us with pensions, I also worry about our quality of life in retirement.”
“We are striking because FFG must respect our rights and pay us a fair wage,” she said.
“We are fighting for a better salary,” striker Ofelia Jacinto told the Militant before the caravan took off. “They want to take away our benefits. We need more mats to stand on, better gloves and more earplugs. When we finish work, we don’t have enough brooms and dustpans to clean up.”
Strikers said they are getting a lot of support from other unions and workers. Support the strike! Join the picket line at 901 W. Hillcrest Blvd.