Allow yourself extra time if you are flying out of BWI Airport tonight. Airline catering workers are picketing American and Delta Airlines beginning at 5 p.m. on the departures (upper) level of the airport.
LSG Sky Chefs workers, part of UNITE HERE! Local 7, are participating in a national call to action, protesting what they say are unlivable wages and unaffordable health care. The press release notes that American Airlines reported record revenue in 2024, with $54.2 billion. For Delta Airlines, 2024 was also a record year with $61 billion in revenue.
The airline catering workers, on the other hand, earn hourly wages and cannot afford their employer’s health care plan. Their most recent contract was negotiated in 2016, and the contract became amendable in 2018. The contract covers 10,000 airline catering workers at LSG Sky Chefs.
Despite nearly seven years of negotiations, no deals have been reached on a new contract. O’Neil told Baltimore Fishbowl that some workers at BWI make less than $16 per hour. Maryland’s minimum wage is $15 per hour.
As of publication, American had not responded to requests for comment. Delta Airlines declined to comment.
“Sky Chefs remains engaged in active negotiations regarding our current labor agreement,” a spokesperson for LSG Sky Chefs told Baltimore Fishbowl. “We have mutually scheduled bargaining sessions with UniteHERE for August, and we look forward to continuing discussions in good faith as we work toward achieving an amicable resolution. We recognize that employees are within their rights to advocate their positions in public, and do not anticipate any operational disruptions during these demonstrations.”
“Airline catering workers prepare meals that may be for the crew and for first-class customers,” said Kate O’Neil, research director with UNITE HERE! “They also prepare the carts with all of the drinks and snacks that may be for purchase on an airplane. … Some of the airline catering workers drive trucks that transport the food and drinks from the kitchen to the aircraft.”
The contracts for airline catering workers fall under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), so while the workers do have collective bargaining rights, the contracts under the RLA don’t expire.
Forbes reported that around 8,000 workers at Gate Gourmet, another leading airline catering company, reached a deal that was ratified in August 2024 that offers “a life-changing new contract with significant raises and better, affordable health care.” At the time, the National Mediation Board had released the Gate Gourmet workers to strike, whereas they have not released the LSG Sky Chefs workers to strike.
While the Gate Gourmet deal was reached under the Biden Administration, which was much friendlier to unions and workers than Trump Administration is, the three members of the current National Mediation Board remain Biden appointees.
O’Neil had no comment about the administration at this time.
BWI is one of 16 major airports at which the workers are planning demonstrations, focusing on American and Delta Airlines.
*This story has been updated to include responses from Delta Airlines and LSG Sky Chefs.
