One Job Should Be Enough in the Airline Industry

KI is today releasing a white paper entitled One Job Should Be Enough in the Airline Industry: Catering on the Margins at American, Delta and United. In spite of tremendous growth in the aviation in the past five years, highly profitable carriers like American, Delta and United have built nearly $50 billion in profits at the expense of over 18,000 kitchen workers located in transportation hubs across the United States. While pilots, flight attendants, and ramp workers have received substantial pay increases in recent years, many caterers continue to work on wages as low as $8.40 an hour, dependent upon government-subsided health insurance. With airline caterers having voted to strike in as many as twenty cities through their union UNITE HERE, this white paper presents an essential overview of the challenges they face at LSG Sky Chefs and Gate Gourmet, the two largest contractors in the aviation industry.