Airline Catering Workers Protest Low Wages At SFO

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, CA — The caterers at work behind the scenes to provide meals for airline travelers are protesting their low wages at San Francisco International Airport Thursday afternoon.

Organizers behind the rally, which was scheduled from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Terminal 3, say the airlines they work with have been clearing record profits in excess of $10 million a day for the last three years while workers around the country sometimes earn less than minimum wage.

Similar demonstrations were scheduled to take place at airports in Los Angeles, New York, Florida, Hawaii, Texas and other states. Minimum wages vary across the various locations, but workers say they're sometimes paid as little as $8.20 per hour.

According to the union Unite Here, catering workers at SFO are earning just $14.52 per hour.

They say that other airport workers have received pay increases in recent years, but catering workers are typically sub-contractors working for other companies and have largely been left behind.

A representative for SFO was not immediately available to comment on the rally.

By Bay City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone