As many as 100 unionized catering workers plan to get arrested protesting near the Fort Worth headquarters of American Airlines later this month in their fight for better wages and benefits.

Employees for catering contractor LSG Sky Chefs said they will block and disrupt traffic near American's corporate campus Aug. 13 and won't move if police ask them to.

While they don't work for American, they say the airline is responsible for their low wages through its contracting.

"I'm not proud of it, but I'll get arrested if it's to better my life and others' lives," said Bobby Kirkpatrick, 57, who works at Charlotte International Airport in North Carolina and is flying to Dallas for the protest. "American squeezes Sky Chefs so much, and then [Sky Chefs says] they can't pay us as much."

Kirkpatrick, a truck driver, said he makes less than $16 an hour after 38 years at the company.

LSG's other customers include Delta, United, Alaska Air and Air Canada. Unite Here union members say they are targeting American with this protest because it is LSG's biggest customer.

American spokesman Joshua Freed said in a statement that the carrier doesn't control wages for catering vendors.

"American respects the right to free association and collective bargaining," the statement said. "We would like the catering vendor and the union to reach agreement as soon as possible."

The union protested at American Airlines in June, but members didn't seek to get arrested and no one was detained.

The 11,000 union members working for LSG, including 926 at DFW International Airport, voted in June to authorize a strike. They are prohibited from walking off the job unless they get clearance from federal labor regulators, which they requested Friday.

Kirkpatrick said the protest should be peaceful but disruptive enough to draw attention.

A Fort Worth Police Department spokesman said officers will make arrests for criminal acts if necessary.

"Of course, we are hopeful the groups are able to resolve their issues and not find it necessary to include the Fort Worth Police Department in their civil dispute in order to garner their desired media coverage," said Lt. Brandon O'Neil. "But I would say that should a protest occur and reach the point that Fort Worth police have to respond, we will attempt to peacefully resolve any issues."

Unite Here and LSG Sky Chefs have been negotiating a new contract since October. The union says that wages at Sky Chefs are as low as $9.85 an hour and that more than half the workers make less than $11.35 an hour and can't afford health benefits.

LSG Sky Chefs, one of the world's largest airline catering providers, is a subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa and has its U.S. headquarters in Irving.

LSG Sky Chefs, in a statement, said it hopes union members "act lawfully."

"Our company has offered improvements in wages and is discussing numerous other issues covered by our collective bargaining agreement," its statement said. "This is a short period of time to negotiate a complex labor agreement and we remain committed to negotiating in good faith with the help of a federal mediator."

Aug. 13 is the first of three days of scheduled picketing in front of American Airlines headquarters.

Stephanie Kopnang, 28, who began working for LSG three years ago when she immigrated from Cameroon, said she plans to protest but won't be among those hoping to get arrested.

"We are the ones making [American Airlines] all this profit," said Kopnang, who lives in Arlington and makes $10.85 an hour. "Are we different from flight attendants? Are we different from pilots? No."