RICHMOND, BC — The union representing food service workers at Vancouver International Airport says more than 200 members walked off the job Thursday to demand higher wages.
A statement from Unite Here Local 40 says the workers are employed by SSP America, which operates more than a dozen food and beverage outlets at the Vancouver airport.
The union says catering attendants, servers, cooks, dishwashers and other workers set up picket lines at 4:30 a.m. for what is being billed as a “one-day strike.”
This pressure tactic in the run-up to the long Canada Day holiday comes after the union declared that the workers, who were negotiating their first collective agreement, rejected the employer’s latest offer.
A company press release indicates that SSP Canada has “negotiated in good faith,” that it is “proud of the offer” it presented to employees and that it hopes the parties can reach an agreement as quickly as possible. quickly possible.
The union says airport concession workers are among the lowest paid workers at the Vancouver airport and many of them are immigrant women.
The airport is certified “Living Wage Employer”, which means that it offers a “living minimum wage” to its workers. But the union says the average hourly wage for concession staff is $7.41 less than the $25.68 calculated by “Living Wage for Families BC” — the benchmark the airport authority says it uses.
