Concession workers who were laid off during the height of the pandemic at John Wayne Airport have filed complaints with the state, alleging Bambuza Hospitality Group failed to call them back to work when business picked up again.
The 37 non-union employees say that’s a violation of Senate Bill 93.
The complaints to the state Department of Industrial Relations were filed Friday, Sept. 8 by Unite Here Local 11 on behalf of the workers.
Portland-based Bambuza took over three concession locations at the airport in July 2021. Those shops now operate as Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchises and previously were Starbucks operated by the workers’ former employer, Host International.
Under SB 93, Bambuza is obligated to make offers of recall to qualified workers who were employed by the previous operator.
Signed into law in 2021, the legislation provides job protection for some 700,000 airline catering workers, cooks, housekeepers and waiters across California who were laid off during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Avelino Flores, one of the complainants, began work for Host International in December 2015, stocking and cleaning one of the Starbucks locations at JWA. He was laid off March 18, 2020, as the health crisis ramped up. He said things have been tough ever since.
“I’ve worked a number of jobs since then, but I’ve struggled to find full-time work,” the 65-year-old Westminster resident said. “My wife works, but that’s part-time so we have to take things day by day.”
The biggest priority, according to Flores, is coming up with enough money to pay the $1,250-a-month rent on their apartment. He was earning $13.30 an hour before being laid off from his airport job.
“No one from Bambuza has reached out to me,” he said.
Unite Here co-President Ada Briceno said SB 93 was written for good reason.
“The intent of the law is that workers who have dedicated years of service to these companies could be fairly brought back to work,” Briceno said in a…
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