Sky Harbor Strike In 3rd Day, Restaurants Operating Normally

PHOENIX, AZ — Sky Harbor Airport food service workers entered the third day of their strike Wednesday, during the busiest travel week of the year.

But the employer of the workers, HMS Host, said that more than 84 percent of workers showed up for their shifts during the first day of the strike and that its operations in the airport were running normally.

The striking employees are demanding new contracts with fair raises, affordable health insurance, company-paid retirement contributions, protections for workers' tips, and strong contract language for equal opportunity and protection from discrimination, according to a news release.

The workers represented by the union, Unite Here Local 11, say they will continue their strike indefinitely until HMS Host agrees to a contract that meets their demands.

HMS Host employs the workers who staff coffee shops and restaurants in the airport like Starbucks and SanTan Brewery.

Workers with Local 11 said have been negotiating with HMS Host for improved pay and benefits since 2017, but HMS Host put the blame on the union for walking away from negotiations in 2018.

"HMSHost has proposed wages and benefits that are top tier in the market, and we encourage the union to accept our offer to increase wages and lower healthcare costs for HMSHost associates without further delay," an HMS Host spokesperson said via email on Tuesday.

HMS Host says it is offering 12 percent wage increases as well as better benefits, such as paying 90 percent of employee health care costs.

In addition to its demands for better pay and benefits, Local 11 announced Wednesday a request to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate HMS Host for "substantial disparities in hiring, promotion, and compensation along racial lines among HMS Host workers at Sky Harbor airport."

In a news release Local 11 alleges that Black HMS Host employees were paid 67 percent of what white workers made in 2019, and Latinx workers were paid 78 percent of what their white colleagues made. The union said the disparity seems to be because white workers tend to land the better-paying jobs within the company.

HMS Host did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations of pay discrimination based on race.