Food service and hospitality workers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport have reached a historic tentative agreement with their employer that will avert a strike over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The agreement includes the highest wage increase ever won at the airport for hospitality employees who work at more than a dozen businesses, which includes cooks, utility workers and engineers, according to Unite Here Local 17. The agreement was ratified Monday evening.
“People are pretty excited,” said Kristianna Brown, a spokeswoman for Unite Here.
The union represents about 250 employees who work at 13 establishments within the airport: Shake Shack, Chili’s, Starbucks, Auntie Anne’s, Moe’s, Smashburger, Chick-fil-A, the Cocktail Room, Bottle Rocket, Firehouse Subs, the Wild Sports Bar, the Market Place and Hissho Sushi.
The establishments are operated by HMSHost.
The agreement with HMSHost was reached Friday, two days before the union planned to begin a strike if no agreement was reached. Workers also organized a demonstration earlier this month in the airport’s Terminal 1.
In addition to the pay increase, the agreement includes better access to health insurance and better compensation during paid time off for servers and bartenders, according to Unite Here.
“This agreement is a long time coming,” said Victor Arreola, a cook for HMSHost, in a statement. “We fought for more than a year to win back what we lost during the pandemic, and we’re finally getting the wages and benefits our families deserve. This contract is going to change lives.”
