Airline Catering Members of UNITE HERE Local 11 Testify at Public Truth Commission on Working Conditions at LAX Facility

Workers serving international airlines speak out for the first time alongside labor and community leaders hosted by Holman United Methodist Church

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week, airline catering workers employed by Flying Food Group at Los Angeles International Airport publicly shared their experiences before a Truth Commission composed of community leaders at Holman United Methodist Church.

Over several hours of often emotional testimony before the Commission, more than a dozen Flying Food Group workers and advocates described unsafe conditions, wage theft and poverty wages, sexual harassment, labor violations, and retaliation for speaking out.

Flying Food Group workers are responsible for preparing and packaging meals and beverages for international airlines including Japan Airlines, ANA, Lufthansa, and Air France—serving thousands of passengers traveling through LAX each day. Despite playing a critical role in global travel, many workers say their voices have long gone unheard. Many workers described safety hazards, including a number than were the subject of citations from the state’s enforcement agency, Cal/OSHA.

“Water mixed with bleach splashed into my eyes, and I felt a severe burning sensation. I reported the incident to my supervisor, who told me to go to the restroom to wash my eyes, because the designated eyewash station was completely blocked by flight carts and, furthermore, did not contain the specialized water required for eye irrigation. My doctor told me that I could have gone blind if it had reached my cornea,” said Sonia Ceron, dishwasher at Flying Food Group for 8 years. “Flying Food Group is a company that does not value us; we deserve to feel safe. I hope that you, the commissioners, can hear us.”

Over the last several years, five different government agencies have issued citations or complaints against Flying Food Group for labor or safety violations. These include six citations by the City of Los Angeles for violations of the airport minimum wage by it or its staffing agencies; six citations by Cal/OSHA for violations of workplace safety rules; 10 citations by California Highway Patrol for operating heavy trucks without proper licenses and other issues; a citation by the California Labor Commissioner for violating the state’s post-Covid right-to-return-to-work law; and a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board for violating federal labor laws through threats, surveillance, interrogations and retaliation.

These citations and other complaints were presented to the Truth Commission over the course of the hearing.

Commissioners included Yvonne Wheeler, President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; Rev. William Smart Jr., President and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Southern California; Frank Lima, General Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Fire Fighters; Kevin Riley, Director of the UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program; Will Mitchell, District Director for California State Assembly District 61 (Assemblymember Tina McKinnor); and Chloe Osmer, Executive Director of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, and leading authority on workers’ rights and wage theft.

Truth Commissioner Yvonne Wheeler, said: “I call on the City of Los Angeles not to renew the license of Flying Food Group. Get somebody else in. Through it all these workers showed their strength. Their fight is not just about one workplace. 
It's about respect. It's about dignity, it's about justice, for all working people.”

Truth Commissioner Rev. William Smart Jr. said, “We cannot just hear a scared story, a scared story calls you into action, we are called into action today! The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California will walk with you and fight with you and be there for you!”

Truth Commissioner Kevin Riley said, “What I saw in this room are workers demanding what the law already guarantees them and striving to hold an employer accountable to their legal responsibilities. You are sounding an important alarm — so that we don't end up with our own Triangle Shirtwaist disaster. I applaud your courage in speaking out, and I stand with you in your efforts.”

Truth Commissioner Will Mitchell, said, “What happens at LAX doesn't stay at LAX; it reflects the standards we are willing to accept for workers across California. Your voices have been heard and will be taken very seriously by Assemblymember McKinnor and her office.”

Truth Commissioner Chloe Osmer, said, “We heard today from workers at Flying Food Group about the devastating impact of wage theft on their lives. We heard from workers about repeated violations by Flying Food Group of the Living Wage Ordinance in LA. It’s called Living Wage for a reason, because you can’t live on less.”

UNITE HERE Local 11 represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports.