Catering workers hold a demonstration against safety issues near LAX during the holiday travel rush
TOI GLOBAL DESK | TOI GLOBAL | Nov 27, 2025, 02:16 IST
Several hundreds of airline catering workers rallied with their voices heard near LAX, claimed that they were working in perilous conditions and requested that city officials hold their employer, Flying Food Group, accountable.
TL;DR
Giving food to the main international airlines, catering employees went on strike close to LAX amid the Thanksgiving travel rush, citing unsafe conditions and asking for the city's intervention. Union officials and workers accuse the management of long-term safety violations, while police say that they have tried to keep the traffic going during the protests.
On Tuesday, several hundreds of airline catering workers rallied with their voices heard close to Los Angeles International Airport and as a result, partially blocked Century Boulevard. It happened right at the time of the Thanksgiving travel rush. The protest was about the accusing of Flying Food Group of providing unsatisfactory working conditions inside the company. This is a major airline catering business that has the most connections with several international carriers.
The rally started early in the day when employees took a march to a main airport access road. They advanced the street thus for a short time vehicular traffic getting there was stopped. Going to the airports was a hard thing to do at those days, still, the atmosphere was very calm. Protesters were forcibly pushed by police in riot gear from the middle of the street to the sidewalk. In addition to that, the LAPD made it clear that there are no traffic flow interruptions in the vicinity.
These workers are mainly from the union of local 11 chapter of UNITE HERE. The ensemble demanded from authorities to make sure that the city-watch would not let the breach of safety standards go unnoticed. It was alleged that Flying Food Group went on one more time in the series of its failure to put an end to the plant's dangerous conditions. Basically, employees have mentioned the problems of the pipeline breaking; emergency exits being blocked; fire alarm systems that were not working and that there were situations where chemicals were involved and people were getting harmed.
According to a union statement, Lilian Rosales the flight coordinator in the company and one of the most experienced employees with 15 years of service, declared the situation very fierce: The examples were "piping bursting, exits being blocked, and chemical-related burns.” Their statement also reads: "I want to feel safe in my workplace. The city has to make Flying Food Group face the music," said Rosales.
According to union leaders, the issues have been raised for quite a long time. Susan Minato, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, talked negatively about the efforts of those who are responsible for the control and suggested that Los Angeles World Airport should be more vigorous in carrying out the city's licensing requirements. "Even when the problems keep on increasing and even when workers are very persistent in coming up with these issues, the management of Los Angeles World Airports has not done anything significant to take action against Flying Food Group," Minato stated.
The union said that the employees have also brought the issue of working conditions to Cal/OSHA on many occasions. The state agency said that it has received the same complaints from the facility although it didn't give details of the investigation at the time of the release.
Flying Food Group is a meal provider to big airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines. According to the union, the company has been "flagged" or "investigated" by a total of five different government departments for the alleged violations of worker safety and poor conditions of the facility in the last two years.
The local government officials have not yet announced if they will take any enforcement actions, and the Flying Food Group has not replied to the requests for comments. On the occasion of the holiday travels, union leaders will continue their campaign for the implementation of safety measures and firm supervision.
FAQs
Giving food to the main international airlines, catering employees went on strike close to LAX amid the Thanksgiving travel rush, citing unsafe conditions and asking for the city's intervention. Union officials and workers accuse the management of long-term safety violations, while police say that they have tried to keep the traffic going during the protests.
On Tuesday, several hundreds of airline catering workers rallied with their voices heard close to Los Angeles International Airport and as a result, partially blocked Century Boulevard. It happened right at the time of the Thanksgiving travel rush. The protest was about the accusing of Flying Food Group of providing unsatisfactory working conditions inside the company. This is a major airline catering business that has the most connections with several international carriers.
The rally started early in the day when employees took a march to a main airport access road. They advanced the street thus for a short time vehicular traffic getting there was stopped. Going to the airports was a hard thing to do at those days, still, the atmosphere was very calm. Protesters were forcibly pushed by police in riot gear from the middle of the street to the sidewalk. In addition to that, the LAPD made it clear that there are no traffic flow interruptions in the vicinity.
These workers are mainly from the union of local 11 chapter of UNITE HERE. The ensemble demanded from authorities to make sure that the city-watch would not let the breach of safety standards go unnoticed. It was alleged that Flying Food Group went on one more time in the series of its failure to put an end to the plant's dangerous conditions. Basically, employees have mentioned the problems of the pipeline breaking; emergency exits being blocked; fire alarm systems that were not working and that there were situations where chemicals were involved and people were getting harmed.
According to a union statement, Lilian Rosales the flight coordinator in the company and one of the most experienced employees with 15 years of service, declared the situation very fierce: The examples were "piping bursting, exits being blocked, and chemical-related burns.” Their statement also reads: "I want to feel safe in my workplace. The city has to make Flying Food Group face the music," said Rosales.
According to union leaders, the issues have been raised for quite a long time. Susan Minato, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, talked negatively about the efforts of those who are responsible for the control and suggested that Los Angeles World Airport should be more vigorous in carrying out the city's licensing requirements. "Even when the problems keep on increasing and even when workers are very persistent in coming up with these issues, the management of Los Angeles World Airports has not done anything significant to take action against Flying Food Group," Minato stated.
The union said that the employees have also brought the issue of working conditions to Cal/OSHA on many occasions. The state agency said that it has received the same complaints from the facility although it didn't give details of the investigation at the time of the release.
Flying Food Group is a meal provider to big airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines. According to the union, the company has been "flagged" or "investigated" by a total of five different government departments for the alleged violations of worker safety and poor conditions of the facility in the last two years.
The local government officials have not yet announced if they will take any enforcement actions, and the Flying Food Group has not replied to the requests for comments. On the occasion of the holiday travels, union leaders will continue their campaign for the implementation of safety measures and firm supervision.
FAQs
- Did the protest affect traffic?
Traffic was interrupted when protesters entered the street briefly, but police were able to quickly restore normal flow shortly thereafter. - Have authorities taken action?
Employees have filed complaints with Cal/OSHA; however, local government officials have not revealed any new enforcement measures.