MSP Airport Food Strike Threatens Thanksgiving Week

Published on Nov 18, 2025, 9:35 am CST

8 min read

Key points

Around 250 HMSHost food workers at MSP have set a strike deadline for November 24 to 26, 2025
The walkout would target Starbucks, Chili's, Shake Shack and other HMSHost brands in both terminals
Flights and TSA security are expected to operate normally but food lines and closures could be severe
Workers have been without a contract since December 2024 and are pressing for higher wages and lower health costs
Travelers can blunt the impact by eating before arrival, packing food that clears security and scouting non Hmshost options
The dispute reflects wider labor pressure on airport concessions and catering work across major US hubs

Impact

Who Is Affected: Anyone connecting through or departing from MSP November 24 to 26 faces a real risk of reduced food and coffee options in both terminals
Airport Experience: Expect shuttered outlets, longer lines at remaining restaurants and more competition for grab and go items during peak morning and evening banks
Planning Ahead: Eat a full meal before heading to the airport, pack security friendly snacks and water bottles you can fill airside and consider lounge access where available
If A Deal Is Reached: If HMSHost and Unite Here Local 17 settle before 12:01 a.m. November 24 the strike would likely be called off but travelers should still prepare backup food plans
Broader Trend: The MSP dispute is part of a wider wave of airport food service and catering labor actions that are raising costs and uncertainty across US terminals

Around 250 HMSHost food and hospitality workers at Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) are threatening to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. CT on Monday, November 24, 2025, right as Thanksgiving week traffic ramps up. The strike would hit Starbucks, Chili's, Shake Shack, Chick-fil-A, and other HMSHost brands that anchor food options in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, potentially leaving many travelers with long lines or no nearby choices during peak banks.

Union leaders with Unite Here Local 17 say members have been working without a contract since December 2024 and are pushing for higher wages and more affordable health insurance, after nearly a year of negotiations with HMSHost, the airport's largest food service operator. This is the first time MSP airport food workers have set a firm strike deadline, which moves the dispute from background noise into a specific operational risk for Thanksgiving travelers.

MSP Airport Concessions And The Strike Timeline

At a press conference on November 17 in MSP's Terminal 1, Unite Here Local 17 announced that if a tentative agreement is not in place by midnight on Sunday, November 23, food workers will strike November 24 through 26, covering the Monday to Wednesday peak of the Thanksgiving travel period. The union represents about 250 HMSHost employees at MSP, including baristas, servers, cooks, and fast food staff.

HMSHost is the dominant concessions operator in MSP's Terminal 1, where it runs nationally recognized brands such as Shake Shack, Chili's, Starbucks, Auntie Anne's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Firehouse Subs, Smashburger, and Chick-fil-A, alongside local concepts like Bottle Rocket and the Minnesota Wild branded sports bar. Many of these outlets cluster in the Airport Mall at the center of Terminal 1, the spine that connects concourses A through G, which means a work stoppage would be felt across most departure gates even if a given concourse still has non-HMSHost options.

In Terminal 2, HMSHost operates fewer but strategically placed venues, including The Wild Sports Bar, Starbucks, and The Market Place near the main departure hall serving the single concourse. Because travelers in Terminal 2 already have a slimmer mix of dining options than in Terminal 1, a strike there would compress demand into a handful of remaining outlets and vending machines.

Union officials say wage growth at HMSHost has lagged the cost of living, while rising health insurance premiums erode take-home pay for full-time workers. The current dispute follows the expiration of the prior collective bargaining agreement in December 2024, a deal that set wage scales and employer health contributions for food and beverage workers across MSP.

Latest Developments

Local television and radio outlets in Minnesota report that negotiations between HMSHost and Unite Here Local 17 are ongoing, but neither side has disclosed detailed proposals or specific bargaining dates in the days leading up to the deadline. The union has framed the strike threat as a last resort after nearly a year of on and off talks, while HMSHost has publicly emphasized its broader record as a national airport dining operator without directly addressing MSP wage and benefit demands.

The practical takeaway for travelers is that the window for a last minute settlement is still open. In similar airport concession disputes, agreements have sometimes been reached hours before a deadline, which immediately removes the strike threat and keeps outlets open without any visible impact to passengers. Until a signed deal is announced, however, travelers passing through MSP between November 24 and 26 should plan as if closures and long lines are likely.

If the parties do finalize a contract before 12:01 a.m. on November 24, union leaders would be expected to cancel the strike authorization and instruct members to report as normal. If talks fail and a walkout begins, it could last the full three days or end earlier if a tentative agreement is reached and ratified, and travelers would likely see some outlets reopen on a staggered basis as staff are called back.

Analysis

For travelers, the key distinction is that a concession strike does not work like an airline or Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shutdown. Airline operations at MSP are run by carriers such as Delta and Sun Country, and passenger screening is handled by TSA, neither of which is a party to the HMSHost labor dispute. Flight schedules and security lanes are therefore expected to operate normally, so the risk is not canceled flights, but a degraded airport experience where getting coffee or a hot meal becomes a time-consuming chore.

In practical terms, a strike that removes a large slice of the branded food and beverage network in both terminals forces thousands of travelers to compete for remaining outlets and grab and go cases, especially during the early morning and late afternoon and evening banks when MSP already sees heavy demand for food and coffee. That pressure can also spill over to non-HMSHost tenants and convenience stores, leading to stockouts of popular items and more crowded seating areas near still-open restaurants.

Because MSP is designed so that most travelers in Terminal 1 pass through the Airport Mall and concourses with prominent HMSHost brands, a strike would be highly visible. Shuttered Starbucks and quick-service counters are not just an inconvenience, they also push more passengers to kiosks, lounges, and vending machines. Travelers connecting through MSP on tight itineraries, or those relying on one specific outlet for dietary reasons, could be hit hardest.

How Travelers Can Plan Around The Risk

The most reliable way to blunt the impact of a possible food strike is to reduce your dependence on airport concessions altogether. Eating a substantial meal before heading to the airport, at home or in a hotel or nearby restaurant, gives you more flexibility if your preferred outlet is closed or overwhelmed. Packing security-friendly snacks such as sandwiches, nuts, or granola bars in your personal item or carry-on is usually permitted under TSA rules, as long as liquids and gels still comply with the 3-1-1 standard.

If you are connecting through MSP between November 24 and 26, build extra time into connections where possible, and use your first stop in the terminal to scout what is actually open that day rather than assuming the usual lineup. Travelers with access to airline lounges or premium credit card lounges should treat those as secondary backup options for light food and drinks, but should also expect lounges to be more crowded if the strike proceeds.

Families traveling with children, or travelers with medical or dietary needs, should be especially conservative and pack enough food to cover delays without depending on a specific brand or outlet inside the airport. If you have mobility limitations, consider asking your airline in advance about wheelchair assistance or golf cart service, since walking farther to find an open restaurant may be difficult when key units are closed.

Background: Airport Food Labor Pressures

The MSP dispute is part of a broader pattern of labor pressure in U.S. airport concessions and catering work. Airline catering workers represented by Unite Here and other unions have staged coordinated pickets and actions at dozens of airports over wages and health benefits, and food service workers at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas recently set their own strike deadline over pay disputes at more than 20 retail outlets.

At Minneapolis Saint Paul, HMSHost has long been promoted as a flagship dining operator, winning awards for sustainability and food programs at Terminal 1, which gives the union leverage when it argues that workers who kept the airport running through the pandemic should share more of that value. The expiring 2018-2024 collective bargaining agreement at MSP shows how wages and employer health contributions for food and beverage workers are negotiated in multi-year blocks, and why inflation and healthcare cost spikes can leave workers feeling like they are going backwards before the next contract is signed.

From a traveler's point of view, this means airport food disruption risks are likely to persist over the next several years in different hubs, especially around peak travel periods that maximize bargaining power. MSP's strike deadline landing at the start of Thanksgiving week fits that pattern, and travelers who get used to packing their own food and checking for concession labor news alongside flight status will be better positioned to ride out similar disputes at other airports.

Final Thoughts

The threatened HMSHost food strike at Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport will not ground flights or close TSA checkpoints, but it could make Thanksgiving week travel at MSP significantly less comfortable and more stressful, especially for those who assume their usual Starbucks or fast casual stop will be waiting for them. With about 250 workers prepared to walk out November 24 through 26 if talks fail, and with HMSHost operating many of the airport's marquee brands across both terminals, travelers should treat the MSP airport food strike threat as a serious service risk and plan meals and snacks accordingly, while watching for any last minute deal that might avert the walkout.