SeaTac Sky Chefs workers picket Alaska Airlines

Airline catering workers are fighting for a new contract with fair wages and affordable healthcare

SEATAC, WA (August 12, 2025) — Workers who provide catering for Alaska Airlines flights at Seattle-Tacoma Airport picketed on Thursday, calling attention to their ongoing fight for a contract with fair wages and affordable healthcare with the catering company they work for, LSG Sky Chefs. They’re part of negotiations for a Master National Agreement with UNITE HERE, which covers all LSG Sky Chefs employees in the U.S, thousands of workers in airports across the country. The company contracts with multiple airlines, including American, Delta, and United.

UNITE HERE has been pushing for a contract that addresses stagnant wages and high healthcare costs, pushing for higher annual raises and increased company spending on healthcare benefits, proposals that have so far been rejected by the company.

Sky Chefs workers picketing Alaska Airlines on August 7. Photo: MLK Labor

UNITE HERE local 8 reports that local workers’ wages have fallen behind those paid at other airline catering companies, like Gate Gourmet. With one of the highest costs of living in the country, workers in the Seattle-area are forced to choose between paying their bills and affording medical treatment. Currently, workers pay expensive premiums for health insurance, an expense most workers cannot afford. During negotiations for the last contract, UNITE HERE reported that less than 40% of workers used company healthcare as a result.

LSG Sky Chefs recently made headlines for firing a worker in Phoenix who had reported violations of the city’s heat and safety ordinance. Workers delivering meals to planes on the tarmac reported broken or no air conditioning in their vehicles, a serious — potentially deadly — health hazard in a region that regularly sees triple-digit temperatures. In response, the company claimed the city’s ordinance didn’t specifically define what “functioning A/C” means.