Hundreds of airport workers will protest Wednesday at San Francisco International Airport to highlight demands for affordable health care benefits, according to union officials.
The protest is scheduled from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the airport’s Terminal 3 on what is typically one of the busiest travel days of the year and will include about 200 workers — some non-union and some members of the Unite Here Local 2 union — who are cashiers and food service employees in airport terminals as well as those who prepare food and drinks served on planes.
In a news release from Unite Here, claims include workers being denied affordable family health care in the face of increased risk of COVID-19 due to exposure to holiday travelers, and the union keeping workers on part-time status so they can’t qualify for health care coverage.
“Airport employers are cheating their employees out of health care that workers need more than ever,” said Anand Singh, president of Unite Here Local 2. “These greedy companies will stop at nothing just to pad their profits — even union-busting to avoid giving workers family health care. With COVID on the upswing, airport workers are going to fight back to get the health care they deserve.”
SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said the airport has issued a permit to the union for free speech activity to ensure that passengers can continue to move through the airport without being impeded.