Starbucks workers at LAX complain about working conditions
Dozens of Starbucks baristas employed by HMSHost at Los Angeles International Airport say they’re severely understaffed and overworked, prompting many to quit as airport passenger traffic continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
HMSHost is in negotiations with the employees, who are represented by Unite Here Local 11.
In an Aug. 25 letter sent to Starbucks Corp.’s executive officers and board of directors, the workers say they’re often doing double or triple the
amount of work in stores being manned by only two or three people.
“Our lines are at times dozens of people long and stretch down the terminal hallways during our shifts,” the letter said. “As a result, we often deal with customers complaining about wait times. One of us recently had a receipt thrown at us by an angry customer.”
The employees said one Starbucks location in Terminal 2 recovered much of the sales it lost from June 2019 to June 2020 but still whittled staffing hours by 25%.
HMSHost disputed that claim in a statement Thursday.
“Overall sales were down 98% at the lowest point during the pandemic and only recovered in this store briefly this summer,” the food service company said. “As of today, sales and staffing hours are on par with one another.”
A representative with
Starbucks said the Seattle-based coffee chain has no control over staffing at Starbucks airport locations since those workers are employed by HMSHost.
HMSHost said it’s grappling with the same staffing issues other businesses face during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everyone knows staffing is a nationwide crisis, and it’s profoundly worse in airports,” the company said. “HMSHost is committed to investing in our people as we continue to prioritize hiring and staffing stores for safety in adherence to social distancing guidelines.”
Still, workers say the HMSHost has “an employee turnover problem.”
“Given how the understaffing problem — and the resulting long lines of unhappy customers and exhausting pace of work — has made our jobs so much more stressful, it is not surprising that new employees would not want to continue with the company,” the letter said.
Tanesha Myles has worked at one of the airport’s eight Starbucks locations for 10 years and says her outlet is habitually understaffed.
“The lines are getting way past ridiculous,” the 34-year-old Lancaster resident said. “Now it’s just me and one other person. We had several new baristas come in, but they couldn’t deal with the workload and just left.”
The employees also allege HMSHost received relief on its rental obligation at the airport, which was shifted from a guaranteed return on rent to a less costly percentage-based rent agreement. They said the company also got a 24-month lease extension from the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners.
Unite Here said the agreement shaved about $4.4 million off their rent to the city on their two direct contracts between April 2020 and June. That, the union said, equated to the company not paying rent to the city for nine of the 15 months between April 2020 and June 2021.
The workers contend the money saved could have been used to hire more employees.
The baristas said they’re seeking a labor contract that includes wage increases and appropriate staffing.
HMSHost said it’s “unfortunate” that the employees are exerting undue pressure to gain leverage at the bargaining table.
“We will not be distracted from our goal of recruiting, hiring, and operating stores that deliver the best experience possible during a very difficult time in the travel industry,” the company said.
HMSHost said it offers supplemental sick pay, 100% paid health care and competitive wages in addition to appreciation and referral bonuses that allowed workers to earn upwards of $1,000 dollars extra over the summer.
This is the second time Starbucks employees at a U.S. airport have complained of understaffing. Earlier this year, baristas at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport expressed similar concerns.