Flying Food Group files charges against union with labor board amid ongoing dispute at LAX

The dispute involves contract talks at FFG’s Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) facility, where the union represents employees. 

FFG claims Local 11 has refused to engage with the company’s proposals, which include significant wage increases, zero-cost health insurance and access to an on-site health clinic. 

Instead of negotiating, FFG claims that Local 11 has resorted to aggressive public pressure tactics, including distributing flyers to airline passengers, staging unauthorized demonstrations and allegedly harassing employees to participate in strikes and misinformation campaigns.

On Feb. 6, 2025, union demonstrators distributed flyers inside the terminal alleging that FFG mishandled sexual harassment complaints. 

FFG has vehemently denied Local 11’s assertions, stating that it has taken swift action, including terminating employees accused of harassment. 

FFG fired Roberto Muñoz, a long-time employee, after three women accused him of creating a hostile work environment through verbal harassment and retaliation. Despite the allegations and firing, Local 11 has pushed for Muñoz’s reinstatement, arguing that his dismissal was unjust. 

"The union is defending a predator," one of Muño’s accusers said.

At a Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) meeting, FFG Human Resources Manager Michelle Aguayo emphasized the company's commitment to addressing complaints and documented the union's attempt to reinstate Muñoz.

"Flying Food Group’s LAX facility, which provides catering to the largest number of airline customers, does not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or abuse towards female employees," Aguayo said. "We take employee complaints very seriously, including transferring an accused harasser away from the accuser while the investigation is pending."

FFG also claims Local 11 distributed misinformation to airline passengers, urging them to pressure airlines to sever ties with FFG. These protests targeted major airlines such as Air France, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Starlux, jeopardizing contracts and job security.

In a letter sent to LAX CEO John Ackerman on February 21, 2025, FFG detailed incidents on Feb. 6 and 19, 2025, where union representatives allegedly entered restricted areas of the airport without authorization and disrupted passengers.

"On February 6, 2025, two Union representatives entered the Tom Bradley International Terminal, approached passengers in line at the Starlux check-in counters, and handed out flyers, disrupting the check-in process," FFG CEO David Cotton wrote. "Despite polite requests from Starlux ticketing agents to move, the protesters refused to comply, leading to concerns from passengers about missing their flights."

In previous formal complaints to LAWA, FFG claims union members violated city code by entering secure terminals at LAX during protests in July, August and October of 2024, without proper authorization. 

"On July 13, [protesters] entered the airport terminal at the Air France ticketing counters, disrupting business and handing out misinformation," Cotton wrote. "Similarly, on August 30, union members again entered restricted terminal areas, despite prior notifications that the protest would be contained to the sidewalk."

Additionally, workers at FFG have expressed growing disillusionment with the union, claiming its tactics are self-serving and disconnected from the needs of long-term employees, with many feeling silenced or excluded from union activities.

Michael Saltsman, the research director at the Employment Policies Institute, has called Local 11 "Los Angeles’ most aggressive union."

Lynn S. Mohrfeld, president and CEO of the California Hotel & Lodging Association, was critical of Local 11 in a September 7 op-ed in Los Angeles Daily News noting Local 11 “seems hellbent on strikes with a focus on their political agenda rather than the employees they are paid to represent.”

FFG claims Local 11 representatives have harassed employees who disagreed with union leadership, calling them “worthless” and “traitors,” and has reported over 130 requests from workers to switch from the union’s health plan due to inadequate coverage.

Local 11 is also accused of blocking a decertification vote in August 2023, depriving workers of their right to decide their union affiliation. Esperanza Maciel, an FFG employee, described her 2023 attempt to gather signatures for the decertification vote, which was blocked by the union after it allegedly submitted manipulated video evidence to authorities. 

“There are over 400 of us registered with the union, yet they only notify the people they consider ‘part of the union.’ If you don’t consider me a member, why are you deducting money from my paycheck every month?” Maciel said.

Maciel noted she believes the union has placed individuals within the company to monitor and harass her, possibly to trigger her termination and invalidate her decertification petition.

“What’s the benefit of being in this union?” she said. “How are you representing me? What do you do for me? Nothing.”