Airlines scramble to find alternate food suppliers
As catering workers’ strike enters second week some passengers offered only snacks and water
As a strike by catering workers at Pearson airport stretches into its second week, the company that employs them warns the walkout is jeopardizing their jobs, as airlines work to find alternate in-flight food sources.
In a written statement Monday, a Gate Gourmet spokesperson warned that the union was jeopardizing contracts with Air Canada, WestJet and other airlines.
“We have made clear to the Union the consequences of a strike that lasts any longer than it already has,” said the spokesperson. “A prolonged strike threatens our work at Pearson.”
Union officials dismissed the threat as a bargaining tactic.
“Implying job losses is a common scare tactic in any labour dispute. The reality is that Gate Gourmet is by far the largest airline catering company at Toronto Pearson,” said Christopher Monette, director of public affairs for Teamsters Canada. “Any attempt to replace it, or the labour of our over 800 members, would be difficult.”
Members of Teamsters Local 647 went on strike last Tuesday after rejecting what the company called its final offer, including a 12 per cent raise over three years.
Gate Gourmet defended the company’s contract offer to its employees, saying it’s “consistent with” any other catering company operating out of Pearson.
Currently, there are a handful of other catering companies operating out of Pearson, but according to industry sources Gate Gourmet is the largest and services roughly 250 flights a day.
Some airline passengers have already noticed the impact of the strike, including being served nothing but snacks and water on some flights, ranging to regular food offerings on others.
Sandy Bonbled, who took a WestJet flight last week from Fort Lauderdale to Toronto, was stunned when flight attendants announced that the only food and drink available on board were pretzels and water. Bonbled and the people she was travelling with had been on a 20-day cruise, and hadn’t been following news of the strike.
“We only had breakfast that day so we were starving by the time we got to Toronto — on a late flight to boot.”
Gate Gourmet said it has been trying to mitigate the impact on
passengers with a combination of replacement workers, management staff and double-dipping from its catering kitchens at other airports. On some flights, that means airline workers have to pack two flights worth of meals into a tight space.
Air Canada and WestJet, meanwhile, say they’re both working to reduce the impact on passengers. Both airlines were initially handing out vouchers for passengers to buy food in the airport, pre-departure.
Air Canada has since stopped handing out vouchers, because it says they’re no longer necessary.
“We have a contingency plan that is now fully in place to ensure our customers have food or snacks and a beverage or water on board,” said Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick. “While North American customers have seen a reduction in choices, there has been only minimal impact on our international services.”
WestJet said it, too, has a contingency plan in place.
“Guests who are eligible to receive an inflight meal including those in the Premium cabin and all guests travelling on transatlantic flights will receive either an alternative option or a food and beverage voucher for use in the terminal, pre-departure,” the airline said in a written statement.
While the airlines could switch to another catering company if the strike continues, they’re likely hoping for a quick resolution, said Rafael Gomez, director of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources.
“They don’t want to be in high summer season still dealing with this,” said Gomez.
Switching suppliers can be a logistical nightmare, especially this close to the summer season, said Gomez. Though, if the strike goes on long enough, he added, airlines may just switch suppliers.
“When keeping the existing supplier becomes more costly than switching to a new one, that’s when the real deadline for these negotiations is.”