July 30, 2015
By Steven Wishnia and Neal Tepel
More than 100 workers protested July 22 outside the Flying Food Group plant near San Francisco Airport, demanding better pay and working conditions. Rosa Rojas, who works in the Burlingame plant preparing packaged meals for 70 airlines, including JetBlue and British Airways, said she works 10-hour shifts in near-freezing temperatures for about $9 an hour, California’s minimum wage.
“These conditions are ridiculous,” said UNITE HERE Local 2 spokesperson Laurel Fish, calling the plant one of the harshest work environments the union has seen. “The pay doesn’t come close to the demands on workers and their bodies,” said Local 2 President Anand Singh, who added that meeting the union’s demands would cost airline passengers only a nickel more per ticket. Read more
