Statement by UNITE HERE Local 11 on Los Angeles World Airports Board of Airport Commissioners vote to accept $36.78 million in an American Rescue Plan Act concessionaire relief grant at the July 8, 2021 Special Meeting
Los Angeles–Los Angeles World Airport staff have recommended that the Board of Airport Commissioners vote to accept federal grant offers for American Rescue Plan program funds at their special meeting on July 8, 2021. The Federal Aviation Administration allocated $36,785,751 for concessionaire relief at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). UNITE HERE Local 11 members at HMS Host demand that, should LAWA accept federal aid, it must require concessionaires like billionaire firm HMS Host to direct all relief to the workers that have struggled through the pandemic.
LAWA extended rent relief twice during the pandemic, providing minimum annual guarantee waivers and 24-month lease extensions for concessionaires like HMS Host. HMS Host is the largest airport concessionaire in North America and operates approximately 47% of all food and beverage concessions at LAX. UNITE HERE Local 11 estimates that because of LAWA’s actions, HMS Host escaped paying more than $4 million in rent between April 2020 and March 2021 for their two direct contracts. This does not include additional relief from the terminal concession manager, URW Airports, which URW passed down to sub-tenants like HMS Host.
Meanwhile, hundreds of HMS Host workers were laid off at the start of the pandemic and many are still waiting to return to their jobs.
HMS Host is a wealthy corporation, whose parent company, Autogrill, is owned by Italian billionaires through a holding company with a net asset value of $12.9 billion as of December 31, 2020. The airport provided more than enough relief throughout the pandemic and concessionaires like HMS Host must prioritize supporting airport workers. Domestic passenger traffic at LAX for May 2021 is at 61% of May 2019, before the pandemic. According to TSA screening numbers, travel peaked nationwide last week leading up to Independence Day with screening numbers exceeding 2019 levels. With travel recovering and significant aid already given to the firm, we believe HMS Host does not need nor does it deserve any additional relief from the American Rescue Plan Act concessionaire relief grant offered to LAX.
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/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00Daria Ovide/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgDaria Ovide2021-07-08 15:43:532021-08-23 12:23:51Relief for Workers, Not Billionaire Corporations Like HMS Host
HMS Host again faces employee protest as workers remain on layoff in the wake of subcontracting
L.A.’s airport authority has granted the company millions in rent relief
Los Angeles: HMS Host workers at LAX protested Wednesday to demand that the airport’s largest food and retail concessions employer stop outsourcing food preparation work and allow them to return to their jobs.
UNITE HERE Local 11 alleges that HMS Host outsourced work that is typically done by union members, purchasing products such as salads and wraps from an outside vendor to sell at its LAX sites. The Union asserts this has resulted in lost work opportunities for HMS Host workers.
HMS Host Executive Vice President Derryl Benton recently claimed that HMS Host currently has 4,400 job openings around the country. Meanwhile, most HMS Host workers at LAX remain on layoff and say they don’t know when HMS Host will allow them to return to work.
HMS Host is the largest airport concessionaire in North America. In 2020, the city’s airport authority LAWA authorized waivers that enabled HMS Host to escape paying in excess of $4 million in contractually-obligated rent, according to estimates by UNITE HERE Local 11. In addition, LAWA granted HMS Host valuable two-year extensions on their direct contracts at LAX. Italian billionaires own HMS Host’s parent company Autogrill through a holding corporation, Edizione, which had a net asset value of $14.98 billion as of December 2019.
HMS Host workers at LAX are over 90% people of color (and over 20% Black) and live in the communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of its LAX workforce remains laid off.
/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00Daria Ovide/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgDaria Ovide2021-05-26 17:03:232021-09-11 17:15:44What Labor Shortage? LAX Employees Demand Airport’s Biggest Concessionaire Recall Laid Off Workers
LAX’s largest food service company faces a million-dollar bill for worker health insurance
Los Angeles: Fluttering a massive banner reading “HMS Host Pay Up” down a parking structure across from Terminal 4 yesterday, LAX airport workers said the airport food service giant has failed to make the financial contributions to extend health care coverage for its laid-off employees.
“We’ve carried this company on our backs for years to make them successful,” said Carlos Castillo, a 21-year bartender for HMS Host at LAX who, like most of his coworkers, has been laid off since March.
While Mr. Valencia had healthcare coverage during the pandemic and at the time of his death, former coworkers say the loss underscores the importance of ensuring that laid-off HMS employees and their families have healthcare coverage throughout the duration of the pandemic.
“HMS Host needs to do what other airport companies have done and pay what they owe for their laid-off workers’ healthcare,” said Robin Rodriguez, organizing director at UNITE HERE Local 11. “It’s reprehensible for HMS Host to contribute to workers’ uncertainty during this time. The company has access to billions while their laid-off workers are struggling to stay healthy and housed.”
HMS Host is the largest operator of airport concessions in North America and at LAX. Its parent company, Autogrill (BIT: AGL), is owned by a family of Italian multi-billionaires whose holding corporation had assets valued at $13.8B last year.
HMS Host workers at LAX are over 90% people of color (including over 20% Black) and live in the communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of its LAX workforce remains laid off.
/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpg00Daria Ovide/wp-content/uploads/newlogo_512.jpgDaria Ovide2020-12-17 16:40:392021-09-11 16:50:51Mourning Coworker’s Death, Employees Demand HMS Host “Pay Up” for Healthcare
Relief for Workers, Not Billionaire Corporations Like HMS Host
Statement by UNITE HERE Local 11 on Los Angeles World Airports Board of Airport Commissioners vote to accept $36.78 million in an American Rescue Plan Act concessionaire relief grant at the July 8, 2021 Special Meeting
LAWA extended rent relief twice during the pandemic, providing minimum annual guarantee waivers and 24-month lease extensions for concessionaires like HMS Host. HMS Host is the largest airport concessionaire in North America and operates approximately 47% of all food and beverage concessions at LAX. UNITE HERE Local 11 estimates that because of LAWA’s actions, HMS Host escaped paying more than $4 million in rent between April 2020 and March 2021 for their two direct contracts. This does not include additional relief from the terminal concession manager, URW Airports, which URW passed down to sub-tenants like HMS Host.
Meanwhile, hundreds of HMS Host workers were laid off at the start of the pandemic and many are still waiting to return to their jobs.
HMS Host is a wealthy corporation, whose parent company, Autogrill, is owned by Italian billionaires through a holding company with a net asset value of $12.9 billion as of December 31, 2020. The airport provided more than enough relief throughout the pandemic and concessionaires like HMS Host must prioritize supporting airport workers. Domestic passenger traffic at LAX for May 2021 is at 61% of May 2019, before the pandemic. According to TSA screening numbers, travel peaked nationwide last week leading up to Independence Day with screening numbers exceeding 2019 levels. With travel recovering and significant aid already given to the firm, we believe HMS Host does not need nor does it deserve any additional relief from the American Rescue Plan Act concessionaire relief grant offered to LAX.
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What Labor Shortage? LAX Employees Demand Airport’s Biggest Concessionaire Recall Laid Off Workers
HMS Host again faces employee protest as workers remain on layoff in the wake of subcontracting
L.A.’s airport authority has granted the company millions in rent relief
Los Angeles: HMS Host workers at LAX protested Wednesday to demand that the airport’s largest food and retail concessions employer stop outsourcing food preparation work and allow them to return to their jobs.
UNITE HERE Local 11 alleges that HMS Host outsourced work that is typically done by union members, purchasing products such as salads and wraps from an outside vendor to sell at its LAX sites. The Union asserts this has resulted in lost work opportunities for HMS Host workers.
HMS Host Executive Vice President Derryl Benton recently claimed that HMS Host currently has 4,400 job openings around the country. Meanwhile, most HMS Host workers at LAX remain on layoff and say they don’t know when HMS Host will allow them to return to work.
HMS Host is the largest airport concessionaire in North America. In 2020, the city’s airport authority LAWA authorized waivers that enabled HMS Host to escape paying in excess of $4 million in contractually-obligated rent, according to estimates by UNITE HERE Local 11. In addition, LAWA granted HMS Host valuable two-year extensions on their direct contracts at LAX. Italian billionaires own HMS Host’s parent company Autogrill through a holding corporation, Edizione, which had a net asset value of $14.98 billion as of December 2019.
HMS Host workers at LAX are over 90% people of color (and over 20% Black) and live in the communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of its LAX workforce remains laid off.
Mourning Coworker’s Death, Employees Demand HMS Host “Pay Up” for Healthcare
LAX’s largest food service company faces a million-dollar bill for worker health insurance
Los Angeles: Fluttering a massive banner reading “HMS Host Pay Up” down a parking structure across from Terminal 4 yesterday, LAX airport workers said the airport food service giant has failed to make the financial contributions to extend health care coverage for its laid-off employees.
“We’ve carried this company on our backs for years to make them successful,” said Carlos Castillo, a 21-year bartender for HMS Host at LAX who, like most of his coworkers, has been laid off since March.
While Mr. Valencia had healthcare coverage during the pandemic and at the time of his death, former coworkers say the loss underscores the importance of ensuring that laid-off HMS employees and their families have healthcare coverage throughout the duration of the pandemic.
Last month, a health benefit fund covering HMS Host employees in Los Angeles informed the company that it is delinquent in paying more than one million dollars in benefit contributions required under a City rent relief program for airport concessionaires.
“HMS Host needs to do what other airport companies have done and pay what they owe for their laid-off workers’ healthcare,” said Robin Rodriguez, organizing director at UNITE HERE Local 11. “It’s reprehensible for HMS Host to contribute to workers’ uncertainty during this time. The company has access to billions while their laid-off workers are struggling to stay healthy and housed.”
In October, HMS Host workers filed a class action lawsuit against the company alleging it failed to pay wages they are owed under the Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance, despite numerous complaints from employees. The still-pending lawsuit also alleges that HMS Host also failed to comply with California labor laws requiring employers to pay final wages to terminated employees immediately.
HMS Host is the largest operator of airport concessions in North America and at LAX. Its parent company, Autogrill (BIT: AGL), is owned by a family of Italian multi-billionaires whose holding corporation had assets valued at $13.8B last year.
HMS Host workers at LAX are over 90% people of color (including over 20% Black) and live in the communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of its LAX workforce remains laid off.