San Francisco airport workers ended a three-day strike Thursday after reaching a tentative deal that includes “significant” pay increases and improved healthcare benefits.<\/p>\n
The deal, which still must be ratified by union members, came after around 1,000 restaurant, coffee shop, and bar workers at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) walked off the job to demand better wages and conditions, temporarily shuttering the operations of many of the airport’s food and drink spots.<\/p>\n
Represented by UNITE HERE Local 2, the workers noted that they haven’t received a wage increase in three years even as costs of living have surged, forcing many to work more than one job to meet basic needs. The majority of food workers at the airport make $17.05 per hour, the union said<\/a> \u2014 far below the estimated<\/a> living wage for San Francisco.<\/p>\n “This strike was so worth it to give my family a better life,” said Blanca Gay, a snack bar attendant who has worked at SFO for 30 years. “My son is in college, but he had to switch from full-time to part-time just so he could work.”<\/p>\n “With the raises we won, I can help my son go back to school full-time,” Gay continued. “All the hard work and sacrifice of the strike has paid off for my family.”<\/p>\n The union, which negotiated the deal with the SFO Airport Restaurant Employer Council, called the pay hikes “huge<\/a>” but said the details of the agreement won’t be released until after the workforce holds a ratification vote on Sunday. In August, 99.7% of SFO food service workers voted to authorize the strike.<\/p>\n “This victory shows the world that fast-food jobs can in fact be good, family-sustaining jobs, and it’s all because workers had the courage to strike,” Anand Singh, president of UNITE HERE Local 2, said in a statement. “After three years without a raise, SFO’s fast-food workers were tired of working two or even three jobs just to survive \u2014 so they took their lives into their own hands and won a better future.”<\/p>\n When we fight, we win! https:\/\/t.co\/YHkHjDYrCa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 UNITE HERE (@unitehere) September 29, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n