SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — More than 100 airport workers in Spokane are now on notice they'll likely be out of a job by spring.
The news comes six months after the airport board began seeking bids for a new concessions and retail operator. In July, requests for proposals went out to take over food and retail services in all concourses; that's also when Unite Here Local 8 union workers began petitioning for job security.
While a lot is still up in the air, including what company will take over concessions and what changes that will bring for travelers, a Washington WARN notice shows 119 workers will be laid off starting April 13.
"There is no way to be certain of anything," said Cor Dehle-Jones, who has bartended inside the airport for a decade.
He got a letter from his employer, HMSHost, which currently runs food and retail service at GEG.
"'It is expected you and other associates affected by this change will be separated from the company…'" he read from the January 26 letter.
He said he and other hospitality workers were notified in November HMSHost would not seek a bid to keep providing service at the airport.
Airport spokesperson Todd Woodard told KREM 2 News the current contract ends March 31. Woodard added the board is still evaluating proposals and a final selection on an operator could come in February.
Dehle-Jones says he and other workers are in a confusing situation until a new operator is selected. Unite Here Local 8 president Anita Seth says they tried, and failed, to convince the airport authority to require job retention as part of the bid process. Now they're waiting to see what company takes over.
“That’s over 100 good jobs. It would be really devastating to lose that and I think not really good for the community either," Seth said. “What we’re trying to do is get the company that’s coming in to agree to hire them all.”
"We’re already trained, we have security clearances, we already know the flow out at the airport because that’s a very specific type of hospitality," Dehle-Jones said.
Both Dehle-Jones and Seth expressed the wealth of experience that could be lost if those jobs are not retained by the new vendor; many of the 119 employees have served travelers at GEG for decades. Dehle-Jones' 10 years of bartending don't even rank him among the longest-serving airport hospitality employees.
The union just recently secured new health benefits, which Dehle-Jones says have been a vital part of his ability to provide for his wife, who can't work due to chronic health conditions.
"We’re dependent on my income, on insurance through my job. Like I said it’s been a good job," he said. "We bought a house here in Spokane a few years ago. We finally felt stable enough to start a family.”
As a new father, he's not sure a bartending gig anywhere else would cut it, especially without his union benefits.
“Even if the job is still there for me, if the benefits aren’t I don’t know what I’m gonna do," he said.
While he feels it just makes sense for the new operator to re-hire tenured workers, especially with what he describes as a tough hiring climate among airports post-pandemic, the uncertainty is still there. No matter who takes over, he hopes his job, benefits, and beloved customers will still be there.
The pride apparent in his voice, Dehle-Jones says he loves his job and wants it to be something he can come back to.
“This may be a little bit of hyperbole to say that the bartenders at the airport are ambassadors for our city, but we kind of are. In a lot of situations we are the first and last people visitors in Spokane talk to," he paused. "I just really hope we can all keep doing it.”
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