Airport catering workers ready to walk off the job
Firm supplies in-flight meals for 20% of planes leaving Pearson
If you are travelling out of Pearson airport next week, you might want to bring along a snack.
More than 800 Toronto workers at Gate Gourmet Canada, an airline catering service provider, could hit the picket lines as early as Tuesday following a 98.8 per cent vote in favour of a strike, Teamsters Local Union 647 announced Tuesday.
The cooks, warehouse operators and other staff supply in-flight meals and beverages served by numerous large carriers, including Air Canada and WestJet.
Between 230 and 250 flights a day would be disrupted by a walkout, according to Martin Cerqua, lead union negotiator and president of the local which represents about 3,000 food industry workers across Ontario.
That’s about 17 to 20 per cent of all flights travelling through Pearson daily.
“It’s very likely we are going to be on strike,” Cerqua said, “unless the company steps up and gives us a fair agreement that addresses our members’ concerns and their families’ economic needs.”
The union’s main issues are improved wages and safety. Workers at Gate Gourmet earn, on average, between $17.69 and $20 an hour, Cerqua said, which is about $3 to $6 below standard wages for the industry.
It’s also under what is considered a living wage of $25.05 an hour in the GTA, according to a report by the Ontario Living Wage Network published in November.
“As you know, the cost of living crisis in the Greater Toronto Area is extreme,” Cerqua said. “Our members are trying to provide for their families, pay rent and put food on the table.”
The union also expressed concern about workers’ safety and benefits, arguing that many report feeling overworked since pandemic layoffs led to widespread labour shortages at airports.
Ben Asare, a forklift operator and chief steward for the union with a 23-year history at Gate Gourmet, says working there “is a lot of
pressure. You are constantly running back and forth, back and forth.”
He says the company used to have around 1,000 employees pre-pandemic, but that’s now down to roughly 800 — though the workload stayed the same.
“There is so much danger,” he said, adding that loading a large aircraft such as a Boeing 777 or an Airbus A330 requires at least four drivers, but Gate Gourmet Toronto uses only two, for instance.
“An aircraft has to leave a certain time. They can’t wait. So the drivers are responsible to run and rush to clear the flight.”
Over the last three months, at least seven hi-lift truck drivers have suffered injuries according to a union press release, which the union says could have been prevented if there were sufficient staff.
In a statement, Gate Gourmet said it is engaging in “good faith discussions” with the union and that “safety is our number one priority in the workplace, and we continuously evaluate staffing levels and operational procedures to ensure alignment with business demands and mitigate the risk of injury.
“While the collective bargaining process can be lengthy, we are committed to reaching a new labour agreement as soon as possible and without any disruption.”
Air Canada confirmed it is aware of the situation, but said that “at this point it is premature to speculate,” a spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. WestJet said its catering team in Toronto has a contingency plan in the event of a strike.
Teamsters said United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, TAP Air Portugal, Air India, Aeromexico, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, and Canada Jetlines could also be impacted by the potential strike.