Two-minute impact
The contract between the food and hospitality management company and union workers expired July 30. Negotiations for increased pay escalated as many concession workers—which include cooks, servers, bartenders and retail workers—struggled to make ends meet, according to a news release from worker union Unite Here Local 23.
Unite Here Local 23 represents over 900 food service and hospitality workers at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
“Me and my coworkers are struggling to get by. Austin is my home—I was born and raised in Austin, and I want to stay here," Delaware North airport employee Markeeta Presley said in a statement. "Our wages just aren’t keeping up as everything keeps getting more expensive."
Presley said the increased pay will help employees, who cook and serve for millions of passengers, to support themselves and their families.
"Without them, the airport and Delaware North would not be as successful as they are," union Secretary and Treasurer Willy Gonzalez said.
Airport workers received their last pay increase in 2022, when city officials voted to increase city employee minimum wage to $20 an hour. The airport is owned and overseen by the city of Austin.
According to a living wage calculator for the Austin area, the minimum wage needed to support two adults and one child is $21.99, and for two adults with two children is $26.91.
“The city of Austin continues to demonstrate that it is one of the most pro-labor cities in the nation,” Austin City Council member Vanessa Fuentes said in a statement. “This win for airport concession workers is an essential leap forward and reinforces that fair wages, robust protections and union support are key to building a more equitable Austin.”
Looking ahead
The contract between Delaware North and its workers nationally was extended until the end of October, in which negotiations are ongoing. In Austin, the management company has committed to paying a minimum of $25 for roughly 85% of its workers, with a plan to pay the remaining local workforce the new minimum wage within the next year.
