This piece was originally published by Workday Magazine.
Food service workers with UNITE HERE Local 17 and union allies gathered in Terminal 1 at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Airport on November 17 for a press conference to announce their intent to strike if a deal is not reached between the workers and HMSHost, the company that operates food and beverage outlets across MSP terminals. The potential strike would coincide with the busiest travel days of the year, and could begin as soon as November 24.
The demands include wage increases and affordable healthcare plans for the 250 food service workers, who have not seen a wage increase since before the pandemic, according to the union. A November 14 press release from UNITE HERE Local 17 says, “HMSHost food prep workers earn as little as $15.98 an hour, among the lowest wages at the airport. Workers say the company took advantage of the pandemic and has yet to make them whole.”
The strike would impact over a dozen restaurants and fast food establishments at MSP: Shake Shack, Chili’s, Starbucks, Auntie Anne’s, Moe’s, Firehouse Subs, Smashburger, Chick-fil-A, Bottle Rocket, The Cocktail Room, and Hissho Sushi Bar in Terminal 1; and The Wild Sports Bar, Starbucks, and The Market Place in Terminal 2.
Victor Arreola, UNITE HERE Local 17 member at a November 17 press conference at MSP Airport. Photo by Isabela Escalona.
Christa Sarrack, president of UNITE HERE Local 17 and chief negotiator of the contract, said in an interview with Workday Magazine that the workers have been at the bargaining table with HMSHost for 11 months. Sarrack explained that according to HMSHost’s last offer submitted on November 15, the company had not agreed to retroactive pay to compensate workers for time worked after the previous contract expired in December 2024. The company had also not agreed to extend healthcare coverage for dependents or allow tip lines at fast food establishments, according to Sarrack. (The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Victor Arreola, a cook, hotel worker, and member of UNITE HERE Local 17, spoke at the press conference. He said that he must work two jobs just to keep up with bills and support his family. Arreola says that he works his first job at MSP airport from 5:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and then clocks into another job at the airport from 2:00 p.m. and works into the evening. “I never stop moving,” he says.
Arreola explains that workers are fed up with low wages and high workloads, especially as airports and companies operating within airports are making record profits. “If they make so much money, why don’t they take care of the workers? The workers take care of the company, so why doesn’t the company take care of the workers?” he asks.
Members of UNITE HERE Local 17 pose for a photo after the November 17 press conference at MSP Airport. Photo by Isabela Escalona.
Kifle Habtemariam has worked at several restaurants throughout MSP for the past 26 years and currently works as a chef at The Wild Sports Bar. “After Covid, we didn’t get any rest,” he says. Habtemariam describes the potential strike as a “big disaster” if HMSHost does not meet the demands of the workers before the holiday.
“We don’t want to have to strike,” says Sarrack. “But we’re prepared to, if we need to, to get a fair contract.”
MSP Airport does not have a direct ability to settle the contract, because the direct employer is HMSHost, Sarrack states. But, she says, MSP can tell the employer that they need to do the right thing and settle a fair contract for the workers that make MSP one of the best airports in the country.”
