Apr. 14—As many as 300 union catering workers at San Francisco International Airport could see their jobs moved to San Jose International Airport, according to their union, in what they are calling a deliberate attempt to get around recently stepped-up health care requirements for some workers at SFO.
Their employer, LSG Sky Chefs, claims far fewer employees will be affected and the changes are part of a long-planned consolidation in response to the pandemic that includes moving some food operations to San Jose.
Passed in November, the Healthy Airport Ordinance took effect last month and requires family health care be provided for private-sector employees to meet a higher standard, at no cost to workers. Employers can choose instead to contribute to a city-managed fund to cover health care expenses for workers and their families under the ordinance.
Workers represented by the Unite Here Local 2 union — including dishwashers, food prep workers, and cooks — have been notified their jobs will be relocated to the company's San Jose facility, according to their union.
In a statement, employee and union member Linda Fajardo said she had been furloughed during the pandemic by the company and had been looking forward to returning to work.
"My job is to prepare the cold foods for the airlines, and I stand on my feet all day long in a big cooler at 38 degrees." Fajardo said. "Now I need physical therapy for my knees, but I can't afford it without a good insurance. My coworkers and I feel so betrayed."
Chapter president Anand Singh said it was not a coincidence that the company announced the changes around the time the ordinance began to take effect last month.
"We believe it's illegal in addition to being abhorrent," Singh said. He added that the union is working with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on options like revoking the company's license to operate. He said he believes the ordinance would still apply to workers, about 60% of Sky Chefs' SFO workforce, even if they were moved since they are still servicing flights out of San Francisco.
Singh said to his knowledge other companies affected by the ordinance were in compliance with it or working to be. "Sky Chefs shouldn't be allowed to skirt the law and get away with this. It would set a dangerous precedent," he said.
Sky Chefs said in an email the move was part of a prior plan to consolidate its food operations in San Jose as a lease at SFO expired and the pandemic has dried up demand for air travel and by connection catering services.
"The number of current employees who will move from SFO to SJC will be around 15-20 in total," the company said, adding that some employees will remain at its warehouse location at SFO. The company said it has been in compliance with the ordinance and that the closure was not connected to it.
Singh, the union chapter president, also said those employees could be paid up to $4 per hour less if they were moved to San Jose.
"All employees will continue to receive their normal wages at this time," the company said.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who authored the ordinance along with Supervisor Shamann Walton, has called for a hearing into the issue, and what he called the company's "egregious violations," of the ordinance in a statement.
In a statement requesting the hearing, Mandelman said the company had ignored the ordinance, including refusing to notify employees affected by it of their rights.
"The Runaway Shop is not a new tactic; for decades, it has been used by businesses looking to evade hard-won worker protection laws," Mandelman said in the statement.
Trade association Airlines for America has also previously filed a lawsuit against San Francisco over the ordinance and is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from its requirements.
Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice
___
(c)2021 the San Francisco Chronicle
Visit the San Francisco Chronicle at www.sfchronicle.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
