ONTARIO, Calif. — Concession workers at the Ontario International Airport gathered Thursday to advocate for a retention policy that would secure their future employment.

The Ontario International Airport Authority has been considering a change of vendor for concessions services, leading some workers to worry that there may be a dramatic change in staffing.

“In many of our union’s airports, we have these retention policies, so we don’t really have to deal with this,” said Juan Muñoz, a researcher for Unite Here Local 11.

Workers were there to advocate for a policy that would be new for the airport and would require new vendors to retain existing staff. The airport authority has been considering a new vendor for months, but the vote was again delayed on Thursday, giving Muñoz some optimism.

Some worry that losing their job would force them to start over at new jobs and fight for wage increases again. In a statement, the airport said it’s working to address the concerns of people employed by the current vendor, Delaware North.

“We are extremely sensitive to the concerns expressed by those who have been employed by Delaware North, and have worked closely with the new vendor to ensure that they have every opportunity to keep their jobs,” CEO Atif Alkadi said in a statement. “With the anticipated expansion of services and amenities throughout the airport, we expect even greater career opportunities for many of those employees.”

But the local union wants the added protection of new retention policies.

“We are glad the airport commission has chosen to delay the vote. This will give workers an opportunity to have a say in the process to further secure their jobs,” said Robin Rodriguez, director with Unite Here Local 11, in a release. “We hope that SSP, the company looking to run concessions at Ontario Airport, follows their example and listens to the workers. We also commend the airport authority for taking the steps necessary to work toward a worker retention policy.”

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the researcher for Unite Here Local 11. The error has been corrected. (Jan. 23, 2023)