Catering truck drivers at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport say their employer, LSG Sky Chefs, has rolled out a single-operator catering policy that puts them in harm’s way. Dozens of drivers and union leaders gathered outside MSP on Monday, joined by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, to demand that the company scrap the policy.
According to MPR News, Ellison stood alongside UNITE HERE Local 17 and LSG Sky Chefs employees as they called out what they describe as a dangerous change first introduced by the company in 2025. Workers say the policy leaves a single driver to haul heavy carts, weave through busy tarmac traffic and service aircraft alone, a setup they blame for chronic back and shoulder injuries and for a recent accident that they say left a coworker paralyzed.
Workers Describe Pressure on the Tarmac
As reported by WCCO, Habtom Weldegiorgis, a driver of more than a decade, said, "It's a lot of hard work every day," telling reporters that tight departure windows mean drivers often feel pushed to rush heavy, awkward loads by themselves. Union leaders say single-operator shifts raise the odds that drivers could be pinned between vehicles and aircraft during hectic turnarounds.
Union Frames It As A National Safety Problem
UNITE HERE, which represents thousands of airline-catering workers nationwide, says the MSP policy is part of a broader push by LSG to expand single-operator shifts and has organized actions at airports across the country. In a December 2025 press release, the union said drivers sometimes must "use all of my strength" to move carts and urged airlines and vendors to bring back two-person crews.
Company Response And A Track Record Of Complaints
LSG Sky Chefs has defended its safety practices at other airports. In Phoenix last year, the company told local officials it "places safety at the forefront of everything we do," even as city inspectors found some trucks without working air conditioning. The Phoenix case, documented by Arizona's Family, highlights the kinds of equipment and heat-safety problems that workers and unions say can make single-operator shifts especially dangerous.
Attorney General Keith Ellison told reporters that "Part of the cost of running your business is a safe working environment," according to WCCO, and he urged employers to put worker safety first. UNITE HERE Local 17 says it will keep pressuring LSG and the airlines that contract with it, and organizers left the MSP rally warning that more direct action and contract pressure could follow if the company does not change course.
