AUSTIN, Texas — With a strike looming, airport concession workers at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will now get livable wages.
The unionized food service workers unanimously approved a strike, which was set to begin Oct. 1 if an agreement hadn’t been reached.
Workers spent months asking their employer, Delaware North, to pay them livable wages. On Monday, those employees announced their victory in getting the minimum wage to $25 an hour.
In July, the national contract between Delaware North and UNITE HERE expired, leading to the authorization of the strike. The national contract has been extended until Oct. 31, as negotiations continue. However, 85% of workers in Austin will get the minimum $25 an hour, with a pathway for the remaining workers to receive $25 an hour within a year.
“This is a major victory for our Union, our members, and for the City of Austin,” said Willy Gonzalez, the secretary-treasure for UNITE HERE Local 23. “Members are often overlooked as cooks, servers, bartenders and retail workers, but without them, the airport and Delaware North would not be as successful as they are.”
Why workers wanted the raise
In August, KVUE spoke to some workers who had to move out of Austin because of the cost of living.
“We’re not trying to become rich, we’re just trying to … survive in this economy,” cashier Cinthya San Miguel said.
According to San Miguel, workers were also overworked and doing the job of two or three people.
“It does feel like it’s not fair either because a lot of our workload [is] being handed to coworkers, that they have to do the job of two or three people,” San Miguel said.
The last time the workers were given a raise was in 2022 when the Austin City Council raised the minimum wage to $20 an hour for all city workers, which also applied to businesses contracted with the city.