MSP Airport food workers set strike deadline during busy holiday travel period

MSP Airport food workers announce strike date [RAW]

Food service union workers at MSP Airport have set a strike deadline, as announced during a press conference on Monday. If a contract agreement has not been reached by 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 24, workers say they will walk off the job, disrupting popular restaurants in both terminals right before the busy Thanksgiving travel period.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Airport food workers are gearing up for a potential strike during the busy Thanksgiving travel period, if a new contract agreement can’t be reached.

Food workers announce strike deadline

The backstory:

The food workers at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport (MSP), represented by Unite Here Local 17 Minnesota Hospitality Workers Union, are requesting better wages and lower health insurance costs. The union says they’ve been negotiating with HMSHost, the airport’s largest food service operator, for nearly a year, as their contract expired in December 2024.

Union workers say if an agreement is not reached by 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 24, workers at MSP Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 will go on strike.

The potential strike could impact locations operated by HMSHost across both airport terminals, including Shake Shack, Chili’s, Starbucks, Auntie Anne’s, Moe’s, Firehouse Subs, Smashburger, Chick-fil-A, Bottle Rocket, The Cocktail Room, and Hissho Sushi Bar in Terminal 1, as well as The Wild Sports Bar, Starbucks, and The Market Place in Terminal 2, according to the press release.

What's next:

"It is time for our members to get what they deserve so that all of us can get back to focusing on the guests," said Sheigh Freeberg, the union’s secretary treasurer. 

Union workers did not provide specific details on the bargaining sessions, or the next steps.