Workers struggle to afford basic expenses like rent and food; UNITE HERE Local 19 members are in contract negotiations with Flagship, calling for the same economic gains contracted workers at Google have won

Download photos and b-roll from the picket line here.

Menlo Park, CA – Hundreds of Flagship food service workers picketed their employer’s cafeteria at the Meta Menlo Park headquarters today, calling for a new union contract with significant raises.  

Flagship workers in Menlo Park participated in a survey with other employees of Meta’s food service contractors Flagship and Yarzin Sella. They say the aftermath of skyrocketing inflation has left them living paycheck to paycheck, being late on rent, and skipping meals because they can’t afford groceries. According to a UNITE HERE survey of 72% (788) of union food service workers at these contractors in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, New York, Washington, DC, and Cambridge, MA, many reported serious economic insecurity during the past year.  

• 74% lacked money to cover rent, mortgage, or other housing costs, while 66% had been late on rent and 12% stayed in an abusive living situation because they did not have the money to move. 
• 55% lacked money to cover food for themselves or their household, with 33% reporting they skipped meals because they did not have money to buy food. 
• 42% worked a second job. 
• 71% of workers surveyed had less than $500 on hand in case of an emergency. 

“I’m good with my money but I work two jobs. I’m a security guard on weekends and sometimes during the week on top of my 40 hours at Flagship. I’ve had a kidney transplant, I don’t want to work these extra hours. We keep things going in the cafeteria, and Flagship doesn’t think we deserve more? It’s wrong,” said Ronnie Mitchell, a Flagship dishwasher at Meta Menlo Park.  

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 for new union contracts, calling for the same economic gains that other contracted tech food service workers have won. Existing contracts are being extended on a daily basis, and extensions are unlikely to continue if agreements are not reached soon.  

“There’s no room in my budget for anything but rent. Food is my biggest issue right now. Some nights I eat my last meal at work and don’t eat when I get home, because it’s more important to me that my kids eat. I’m supporting my union siblings at Local 19 on the picket line and I know they’ll have New York’s back too,” said Kelly Sanchez, a Flagship prep cook at Meta New York. 

Recently, more than 4,500 UNITE HERE members employed by Compass, Guckenheimer, and Sodexo at Google cafeterias nationwide 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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UNITE HERE Local 19 represents hospitality workers across Northern California in hotels, sports arenas, convention centers, airports, restaurants, and cafeterias.