CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Food and hospitality workers at the United Center have reached a deal with Levy, the stadium’s concession company, to avoid a strike.
The ongoing negotiations had limited some options at the United Center during the Big Ten Tournament, and a one-day strike on March 5 affected food and beverage service during the afternoon’s Chicago Bulls game.
Officials said the tentative agreement will still need to be ratified by Unite Here Local 1 members.
According to union members, their demand for a pension plan was the main sticking point.
“The workers need a pension,” said Local 1 official Maria Hernandez on March 5. “The company has had a chance to remedy this situation, and it has chosen not to.”
The union represents about 700 servers, cooks, bartenders, dishwashers and others at the United Center, and Local 1 represents more than 16,000 hospitality workers in the Chicago area.
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(The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.)
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