Press Release: YVR Airline Catering Workers Ratify Contract with Historic Wage Increases

For Immediate Release

Vancouver, B.C. – UNITE HERE Local 40 members who work for Gate Gourmet at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) have voted 94% “yes” to ratify a new collective agreement that will significantly raise airline catering workers’ pay.  The company agreed to provide 12% wage increases to workers in Vancouver to address skyrocketing inflation. The wage boost will also make these among the best paying airline catering jobs at YVR Airport.

Nearly 300 Gate Gourmet workers who prepare and deliver meals to Air Canada and other major airlines are covered by the new three-year agreement.  Workers have held escalating job actions, including rallies and an overtime ban, to press the global catering company over low-pay and staffing challenges. Last month, the B.C. Labour Board issued a cease-and-desist order against Gate Gourmet for using replacement workers during a strike action.

Under the new collective agreement, most workers will be earning approximately $25 an hour or more by next summer, which sets a new standard for airport catering workers at YVR.

“We’re proud of what we achieved during this round of bargaining. Gate Gourmet workers united together to win a contract that allows us to keep up with rising inflation and to make these truly living wage jobs,” said Rolando Gonzalez, a team lead in the kitchen department and bargaining committee member.

The new agreement also secures improvements in health care benefits, improved seniority rights for long-term workers, a quicker path to top wage rates and an increased shoe allowance. The new agreement is in place through July 31, 2025.

For more information, contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785

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