Airline catering company reaches tentative agreement with workers who had threatened to strike

WASHINGTON -- Airline catering company Gategourmet and unions representing its workers said they reached a tentative agreement that could prevent a threatened strike, although a union spokesperson said Monday that some details remained to be completed.

Gategourmet said the agreement includes an improved healthcare plan and wage increases for the employees, who prepare, pack and deliver food and drinks to planes at about 30 U.S. airports.

The company, a subsidiary of a Swiss conglomerate, said the two sides would begin finalizing contract language so that the agreement can be sent to union members for a ratification vote.

A spokesperson for Unite Here, one of the unions representing the workers, said there is a tentative agreement but negotiators “are working out some critical issues before it can be finalized.” The unions had threatened to go on strike as soon as Tuesday morning, but the spokesperson said there would not be a walkout overnight.

The unions, which also include the Teamsters, have pressed for higher wages and better health care. They said only 25% of Gategourmet employees are in the company’s health plan, and some are paid as little as $13 an hour.

Strikes in the airline industry are rare. However, federal mediators took the unusual step of determining last month that further negotiations were unlikely to help. That cleared the way for a strike after a 30-day “cooling-off” period, which ends Tuesday.