Striking Phoenix airport workers returning to work after 10-day stoppage

PHOENIX — Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport restaurant workers who went on strike last week will return to work on Thursday, the union announced.

The strike of some HMSHost workers at the airport began on Nov. 22 after members of Unite Here Local 11 authorized the strike by a 97% vote earlier in the month.

Members are seeking raises, affordable health insurance, a company-paid retirement contribution and tips protection from HMSHost, the largest concessions operator at the state’s largest airport.

The union said employees would not only be returning to work but to the negotiating table after the strike that went through a busy Thanksgiving holiday at the airport.

“Our intention with our strike was to bring more attention to the company’s stinginess after four years of negotiations, and to do it at a time when the company would be forced to recognize the value of our labor most – Thanksgiving,” Victoria Stahl, a barista in Terminal 4, said in a press release.

“We did that and now we are ready to go back to the negotiating table.”

HMSHost previously said it was offering a “generous compensation package” that included 12% pay raises and accused the union of using the holiday travel season as leverage in the negotiations.

Unite Here Local 11, a union for hospitality workers in Arizona and Southern California with more than 32,000 members, said in the release it has been in negotiations with HMSHost since 2017.

HMSHost operates 12 concessions brands at Sky Harbor, including Starbucks, Chelsea’s Kitchen, Olive & Ivy, SanTan Brewing and Zinburger.

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