UNITE HERE Local 19 members are in contract negotiations with Flagship, calling for the same economic gains other industry workers have won

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 2:30 – 4 pm

WHO: Flagship dishwashers, receivers, hosts, servers, and cooks; other members of hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 19, including contracted cafeteria workers from Google; and supporters.

WHAT: A picket of the Flagship-operated cafeteria at Meta Menlo Park. Workers will be wearing red t-shirts and holding signs that read “Flagship Food Service Workers Need a Raise” and “Flagship Food Service Workers Deserve Respect.”

WHERE: 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA, 94025

WHEN: Wednesday, March 20 from 2:30 – 4 pm

WHY:
In the aftermath of a global pandemic and skyrocketing inflation, contracted food service workers at Meta report living paycheck to paycheck, being late on rent, and skipping meals because they can’t afford groceries. Workers say these economic setbacks have all but negated the positive impact of the wage increases they won with their first union contracts.

Now, around 1,000 workers in Menlo Park, Sunnyvale, San Francisco, Fremont, New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., and Cambridge, MA, are in negotiations with Flagship and Yarzin Sella— the two companies contracted to conduct food service operations on Meta campuses – for new union contracts. They are calling for the same economic gains that other contracted tech food service workers have won.

Recently, more than 4,500 UNITE HERE members at Google cafeterias – employed by Compass, Guckenheimer, and Sodexo – won historic second union contracts that set a standard for all industry food service workers, including a minimum raise of $7 an hour over the life of the contract, continued free family healthcare, protections against layoffs, gender identity protections, and more.

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