Aviation trade unions in Europe have committed to mobilising in support of over 1,000 Flying Food Group workers at SFO and LAX airports.
The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) Civil Aviation Section passed a resolution after hearing from FFG workers and their union, UNITE HERE, to support their five-year struggle for a collective bargaining agreement. FFG workers provide catering services to numerous European carriers at LAX and SFO airports and are a critical part of their supply chains.
The resolution follows a visit to Berlin by a delegation from UNITE HERE Local 11, the US union representing FFG workers, supported by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). The delegation travelled to Europe to press Lufthansa, Air France, Virgin Atlantic and other European carriers to take action over what the union has called serious and persistent labour violations by one of their key suppliers. It follows a recent independent report by two leading labour law experts – Deborah Greenfield, former Deputy Director-General of the ILO, and Lance Compa, Senior Lecturer Emeritus at Cornell's ILR School – finding that FFG’s alleged breaches span multiple categories of ILO core labour standards (seefull report here).
FFG's record is striking. Over the last several years, five different government agencies in the US have issued citations or complaints against the company relating to violations of the minimum wage, workplace hazards, public safety, employment protections, and interference with the right to organise and bargain collectively. In addition, seven women have also filed pending sexual harassment complaints, including three who have alleged they subsequently faced retaliation.
In January of this year, during a fire at the facility - the second in four months - two workers were allegedly found inside a cooler room whose entrance door had been chained shut from the outside, a hazard the company had previously been cited for.
The resolution recognises that:
- Over 1000 airline catering workers, employed by FFG and members of UNITE HERE at LAX and SFO airports have been in active struggle for over five years for a collective bargaining agreement.
- FFG has taken an aggressive anti-union position against its employees and made attempts to derecognise the union.
- Many European airlines contract with FFG at LAX and SFO for their catering services. FFG workers are an essential part of these airlines’ supply chains.
- Outsourced services should not dilute airlines’ responsibility for the conditions of workers on whom their business relies.
It resolves to:
- Stand in solidarity with FFG workers at LAX and SFO and support them in their pursuit of a collective bargaining agreement.
- Mobilise ETF civil aviation unions to offer solidarity and practical support to resolve the dispute.
- Remind airlines of their ethical, legal and industrial responsibility to workers in their supply chains.
The European trade unions involved represent workers at a majority of the airlines that source from FFG in Los Angeles and San Francisco, including Lufthansa, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Austrian Airlines, Polish Airlines, KLM, ITA, Scandinavian SAS, TAP Air Portugal, and Cargolux.
Elisa Valencia, a worker who prepares meals for airlines at FFG, said: “No one should have to endure the kinds of unsafe and abusive conditions we have endured at Flying Food Group preparing food for wealthy airlines. We have often felt invisible, but today our European trade union colleagues are helping us to be seen and to hold these airlines accountable.”
Josef Maurer, Head of Aviation and Maritime at the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) stated: “European airlines that rely on Flying Food Group for catering services cannot ignore the conditions faced by workers within their supply chains. Outsourcing is not a means of avoiding ethical, legal or industrial responsibilities towards workers. We stand in full solidarity with the workers and their union, UNITE HERE, in their pursuit of justice, dignity and a fair agreement. We also commit to mobilising civil aviation unions across Europe to provide practical solidarity and support to help bring this dispute to a resolution.”
The resolution is strongly backed by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), which is coordinating solidarity between UNITE HERE and global aviation unions including those in Europe. European aviation unions affiliated to the ETF and ITF will directly engage with airlines contracting with FFG at LAX and SFO, invoking their obligations under national and EU law.
"All airlines have a responsibility to ensure that the workers who make their business possible are treated with respect and dignity. They must engage with their service providers like Flying Food Group to ensure they meet these expectations. In Europe and across the world, aviation unions take human rights seriously - and we will ensure they apply to everyone,” said Bilal Malkawi, ITF Director of Civil Aviation and Tourism. “We applaud the courage of FFG workers and their union UNITE HERE and we are going to support them until they win.”
