Archive for category: Updates

It’s time to vote! San Francisco voters: Vote YES on Prop E and NO on Prop D. Prop E is the ONLY measure on your ballot that will actually build affordable housing faster – so more of us can afford to live in this city.

Watch the commercial featuring Camucha, a Local 2 member from the St. Regis hotel:

Hotel workers like Camucha have a message for San Francisco voters:

✅ Vote YES on Prop E…
❌ and NO on Prop D.

Prop E is the ONLY measure on your ballot that will actually build affordable housing faster – so more of us can afford to live in this city! @sfhomes4workers pic.twitter.com/nk0Bk3Zi6F

— UNITE HERE Local 2 (@UniteHereLocal2) October 19, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 2, 2022

Contact: Ted Waechter twaechter@unitehere2.org

Airport Restaurant Workers Approve Deal for $5/Hour Raises, Free Family Health Care After Strike at SFO

Strike By 1,000 Workers Had Shut Down Most of SFO’s Food and Beverage Outlets

San Francisco, Calif. – A thousand fast-food workers at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) have won a $5 per hour raise and free family health care after shutting down most of the airport’s food and beverage outlets during a three-day strike. The workers, members of the hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 2, ratified their new union contract by a vote of 99.5 percent on Sunday, October 2, 2022.

Photos and B-roll of voting, picket lines, and shuttered restaurants are available for download here.

The contract includes:

• $5 per hour raise. (Immediate raise of $3 per hour, additional raises totaling $5 per hour by September 2024.) Most workers’ hourly wage will increase $17.05 to $22.05 – almost a 30% raise.
• Free platinum-tier family health insurance, including medical, dental, and vision. Workers can cover the whole family with no premiums. Co-pays of less than $30 for almost all doctor’s visits and prescriptions.
• Increased retirement income through a defined-benefit pension.
• Retention policy to protect workers’ jobs when food and beverage outlets change operators.
• One-time $1500 bonus.

“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.”

“This victory is more than I ever dreamed of,” said April Asfour, a cook at Boudin Bakery Café at SFO. “I have six kids, and this raise will help me to support them. And with the health care that we won, I can cover all of them for free. I’m so proud that we stood up for ourselves, because everything we won will help me give my family a better life.”

The strike 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.

“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.”

SFO fast-food workers’ strike began on Monday, September 26, 2022, and ended late Wednesday night, September 28, 2022, after a tentative deal between UNITE HERE Local 2 and the consortium of SFO airport restaurants was unanimously approved by the union’s bargaining committee of 80 airport restaurant workers.

The strike included a thousand cashiers, baristas, cooks, dishwashers, bartenders, servers, and lounge attendants at 84 food and beverage outlets throughout SFO. The majority made $17.05 per hour and had not seen a raise in three years. The contract will expire in August 2025.

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UNITE HERE Local 2 is the hospitality workers’ union in the San Francisco Bay Area, representing over 15,000 workers at San Francisco International Airport, Oakland International Airport, and hotels, restaurants, tech cafeterias, sports stadiums, and more.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, September 16, 2022

Contact: Ted Waechter twaechter@unitehere2.org

41 Arrested at SFO After Blocking Traffic in Fast-Food Workers’ Protest Against Poverty Wages

1,000 Food Service Workers at SFO Say They’re Ready to Strike

San Francisco, Calif.—41 airport fast-food workers and supporters were arrested and cited after blocking traffic on the airport road outside of Terminal 3 at San Francisco International Airport. The non-violent civil disobedience, as well as picket lines by hundreds of workers and supporters, drew attention to workers’ fight against poverty wages and unaffordable health care.

Hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 2 represents a thousand fast-food workers at SFO – including cashiers, baristas, cooks, dishwashers, bartenders, servers, and more – who have said they are prepared to strike for better jobs. California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez, State Senator Josh Becker, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, and San Francisco Supervisors Connie Chan and Gordon Mar were among those arrested in solidarity with airport workers.

Photos and video of the action are available here courtesy of Unite Here Local 2.

The majority of fast-food workers at SFO make $17.05 per hour and have not seen a raise in three years. Many say they have to work two or even three jobs to make ends meet. Workers have emphasized that their hourly wage is often less than the price of a single meal at SFO, comparing their pay to the price of popular menu items in viral social media videos viewed over 500,000 times. Affordable health care and a secure retirement are also key issues in ongoing negotiations.

“I have to work two jobs to support my family, and I’m exhausted from living on four hours of sleep a day,” said Lucinda To, a lounge attendant at the United Club and a server at Cat Cora’s Kitchen at SFO. “I’m making $16.99 per hour even though a meal at the airport costs at least $20. I hope this protest will show people that workers at SFO need a change, and we are ready to strike for it.”

“Working at SFO used to mean you had a good job, but most of the airport’s fast-food workers haven’t seen a raise in three years,” said Anand Singh, President of UNITE HERE Local 2, who was also arrested. “Nowadays a single meal at SFO often costs more than what an airport fast-food worker makes in an entire hour. After nine months of negotiations that got us nowhere, we’re ready to strike for decent jobs.”

Airport food service workers voted by 99.7 percent to authorize the strike through a vote held in August. A strike could begin at any time.

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UNITE HERE Local 2 is the hospitality workers’ union in the San Francisco Bay Area, representing over 15,000 workers at San Francisco International Airport, Oakland International Airport, and hotels, restaurants, tech cafeterias, sports stadiums, and more.

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022

Contact: Ted Waechter twaechter@unitehere2.org 919-636-1124

SFO Airport Workers to Protest Following Strike Vote

Food Service Workers at San Francisco Intl. Airport Announce Overwhelming Vote to Prepare for Strike

WHO: Hundreds of workers at food and beverage outlets at SFO – including cashiers, baristas, servers, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, and more. They are members of the hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 2.

WHEN: Thursday, August 18, 1pm-5pm

WHAT: Major protest over health care and wages. This is the first protest at SFO since workers voted to authorize a strike. (Please note: This a protest, not a work stoppage or strike.)

WHERE: Terminal 3 departures level. Contact Ted at 919-636-1124 when you arrive.

VISUALS: Airport food service workers picketing in uniform, holding signs that say, “One Job Should Be Enough.”

WHY: Food service workers at SFO say they’re tired of working two or even three jobs to survive – and are ready to strike for better pay and health care.

After eight months of fruitless negotiations, workers voted on Wednesday August 10 to authorize a strike by 99.7%. This is workers’ first protest since the strike vote, and they hope it will persuade employers to reach a deal for living wages and affordable health care. (Please note: Thursday’s event is a protest, not a work stoppage or strike.)

B-roll and photos of the strike vote are available for download here.

Airport food service workers say their jobs aren’t enough to keep up with the cost of living – while airline fares and menu prices soar. They say negotiations over wages and health care have dragged on long enough.

“I’m a single mom living paycheck-to-paycheck,” said Margaret Manalo, a lounge attendant at SFO for 7 years. “It’s my first time getting involved with the union and getting ready to strike, 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.”

“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.”

Marriott hotel workers with the same union won raises and better health care after a two-month strike in 2018.

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UNITE HERE Local 2 is the hospitality workers’ union in San Francisco, San Mateo County, and the East and North Bay, representing over 15,000 workers at SFO and OAK and in hotels, restaurants, tech cafeterias, sports stadiums, and more.