Workers file complaint alleging unsanitary conditions at airline catering facility serving LAX flights

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Employees at an airline catering facility serving Los Angeles International Airport have filed a complaint with Cal/OSHA, alleging unsanitary working conditions and urging state inspectors to investigate.

The allegations were made by workers at Flying Food Group, a facility that prepares thousands of airline meals for many international flights. Their union, UNITE HERE Local 11, released images that it says show unsafe conditions inside the facility.

According to the union, employees have been exposed to conditions that include maggots, mold and cockroaches. The union said dishes shown in the released images were found last month in a dish cart that had been left unopened for an extended period.

Susan Minato, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, described an incident involving a worker who allegedly discovered the dishes.

“She told the supervisor, 'I don't think I should clean this. I think that this should be thrown away. This is too disgusting,'" Minato said. "The supervisor told her that she must clean it, and they need the dishes for other flights."

“She was not given face mask, she was not given, you know, special gear to do such a job, and so she felt … I believe what she said was that she felt ... in her nasal area, some kind of reaction, and she felt sick,” Minato added.

The union said there is an ongoing labor dispute with Flying Food Group over the alleged conditions and prior unrelated citations.

The union also said it has proposed multiple workplace safety protections that it alleges the company has rejected.

Flying Food Group had not responded to a request for comment on the allegations.

The union also said LAX recently granted the facility a six-month extension to continue operating. That license will terminate at the end of this year, but it could be renewed again.