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Strike looming for 400 airport catering workers

More than 400 catering workers based at Vancouver International Airport are preparing to strike over what their union calls a lack of honesty from their employer.
strike
Jenny Kwan, Member of Parliament for Vancouver East, with the UNITE Here Local 40 workers protesting outside the BC Labour Relations Board in Vancouver earlier this month

More than 400 catering workers based at Vancouver International Airport are preparing to strike over what their union calls a lack of honesty from their employer.

The members of UNITE Here 40 local — who work for global in-flight caterer Gate Gourmet — claim they were promised they would be rewarded for agreeing to a wage freeze three years ago, when the airline industry was in an apparent slump.

However, despite the Swiss-based corporate giant, whose customers include Air Canada, British Airways, Air China, United and American airlines, picking up several major contracts in recent years, the union claims all that’s being offered is a one per cent raise.

Last week, the workers, according to the union, voted overwhelmingly to authorize job actions, up to and including a strike, if no progress is made at the table. 

And with both sides remaining far apart, despite mediation taking place this week, strike action is looming.

“We’ve been bargaining with them for a couple of months, but we’re still very far apart,” said Michelle Travis, spokesperson for UNITE Here Local 40.

“The key issues are that the employees agreed three years ago to a wage freeze when the industry wasn’t doing so well. But since then, the industry has picked back up and the company has several new contracts. Our members can see how well the company is doing.

“There’s also an overtime ban, leading to understaffing and more pressure on the workforce.”

The 400 or so workers, said Travis, are mostly production staff and drivers, the majority of whom are immigrants from China and other parts of the globe.

On Thursday, some of the workers protested outside the BC Labour Relations Board building in Downtown Vancouver.

In a press release, the union claims that Gate Gourmet has “failed to recognize the economic sacrifices made by their employees and their families.”  

A Gate Gourmet spokesperson told the News that details of the negotiations were confidential.