Philadelphia sport complex workers go on strike
Food and beverage workers at three Philadelphia sports complexes are pushing for higher wages and healthcare coverage.
Food and beverage workers from three Philadelphia sports complexes went on strike Monday morning in an effort to secure increased wages and healthcare coverage.
Unite Here Local 274, which represents over 4,000 workers including cooks, servers, bartenders, dishwashers, concession workers, cleaners, retail workers and warehouse workers at Citizens Bank Park, the Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Field, announced the strike on September 22.
The striking workers are employees of Aramark, which provides food and facilities services at all three locations.
According to a statement from the union, the strike “is part of an ongoing campaign to win family-sustaining wage increases and healthcare coverage for stadium workers at all three stadiums.”
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Striking workers are from three sports stadiums
Teamsters Joint Council 23, which represents food and beverage truck drivers, announced that it was sanctioning the strike. This means that union members can refuse delivery jobs to the three Philadelphia sports complexes.
“Before we even talk about building a new arena, we need to make sure that stadium food service jobs are good jobs,” Tiffani Davis, an Aramark concessions workers employed at Citizens Bank Park, Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Field said in an announcement by Unite Here Local 274. “Year-round work should come with benefits like healthcare and family sustaining wages.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker endorsed a plan to build a new arena for the city’s 76ers basketball team on September 18.
While many Unite Here Local 274 workers are employed at all three sports complexes, according to the union those workers have their hours counted separately for all three locations, affecting their health insurance eligibility. The union’s statement calls for Aramark to aggregate hours worked at all of its stadiums.
“In the five-week period since the union rejected our offer, they have chosen to strike without making any substantive changes to their position. They continue to engage in non-productive tactics choosing to strike again and continuing to seek a boycott of Aramark’s services,” Debbie Albert, a spokesperson for Aramark, told the Philadelphia Inquirer on September 22.
The strike was announced earlier this month
The union announced the strike earlier this month, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, saying that 84% of its members had voted in favor of striking.
Citizens Bank Park is set to host the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs beginning Monday. The Wells Fargo Center is scheduled for concerts by singer-songwriter Maxwell on September 24 and Charli XCX on September 25 along with a Philadelphia Flyers pre-season hockey game on September 26. Lincoln Financial Field will host the Temple University-Army football game on September 26, while the next Philadelphia Eagles game at the stadium is scheduled for October 13.
Aramark employees at the Wells Fargo Center previously held two strikes in April, as reported by the Philly Voice. Aramark workers also protested outside of Aramark’s Philadelphia headquarters in June.
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com