The union representing airline food workers say negotiations with airline catering company, Gate Gourmet, have completely broken down and a strike is “inevitable.”
Teamsters Local Union 647 announced last week that over 800 workers at the company, which operates out of Toronto Pearson Airport, voted nearly 99 per cent in favour of strike action.
The workers are tasked with cooking, packing and delivering meals, snacks, beverages, and other supplies to planes for in-flight service.
Director of Public Affairs Christopher Monette tells CityNews the company has given them a “final offer” that membership will vote on Monday.
He adds the offer fails to address their concerns around wages and they expect it to be rejected. Voting ends at 10 p.m. and if rejected, workers will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
The union says Gate Gourmet workers in Toronto are paid well below industry standards, in the hourly range of between $17.69 and $20, and wants to close that gap.
Airlines affected by a potential strike include Air Canada, West Jet, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Air India, Aero Mexico, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, and Jetlines.
“The labour dispute will prove highly disruptive, with Air Canada being worst affected. We expect many flights to leave Pearson with less or no food,” read the statement from Monette.
A spokesperson with Teamsters Canada confirmed with CityNews last week that a walkout would disrupt between 230 and 250 flights daily, equivalent to roughly 25 per cent of daily flights travelling through Toronto Pearson.