PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Unionized Aramark food and beverage workers at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field voted overwhelmingly to reject the company’s latest contract offer and go back to the bargaining table.
The workers, represented by Unite Here Local 274, voted with union leaders’ recommendation to turn down the contract. When the votes were tallied Wednesday evening from workers at Lincoln Financial Field, and earlier from workers at Citizens Bank Park, 98% of the members of Unite Here Local 275 had said no to the contract.
“This is a disgrace what they are trying to propose. We’re afraid of homelessness,” said Tiffany Davis, a member of the bargaining unit.
The union says Aramark’s offer would have given the majority of stadium workers a 50 cent raise to their hourly wage each year over the next six years.
Aramark wants union members to sign a six-year contract. The union wants a two-year deal, and they say 50 cents a year is not enough.
“We need better pay,” said Alex, who voted no. “We don't only suffer, but our families that we go home to every night suffers. So we can't work for pennies and expect to support our family.”
Another worker who voted against the proposal said, “We’re living paycheck to paycheck and can barely make my rent and stuff like that. So this is dire for a lot of our employees.”
The union is looking to put its South Philadelphia Sports Complex workers on par with their counterparts in other cities. For example, the Aramark offer would have put a Citizens Bank Park concession stand worker’s hourly rate at $16.55. The union wants that to be $21.90 an hour.
“Why is a can of beer more than what the workers are making [per hour]?” said Davis.
Food service utility workers at Cap One Arena in Washington, D.C., and United Center in Chicago earn $21.50 per hour and $21.55 per hour, respectively, says Unite Here — while their counterparts at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field make only $17.50 per hour.
In Philadelphia, Citizens Bank Park concession stand attendants earn $16.05 per hour, and workers at Lincoln Financial Field doing the same work earn $15.55 per hour — compared to $20.50 per hour for their counterparts in Chicago, says Unite Here.
“We are worth $25 an hour,” said Markita Alford, a grill cook.
Lamont McDowell says it’s also about health insurance.
“We are fighting for health care. I haven’t been to the doctor in about 15 years,” he said.
In Chicago, employees who work a minimum of 910 hours in a year between United Center and Wrigley Field are eligible for free, year-round health insurance, says Unite Here.
The union says Aramark’s rejected proposal would have left too many year-round workers uninsured and reliant on government health care programs because the proposed threshold number of hours to qualify is too high.
Workers say it prevents those who need the benefit most from being able to get it.
“We have a lot of workers here that can’t go to a doctor. We have one who is diabetic, and he can’t get medicine,” said Samantha Spector, a shop steward and a member of the negotiation committee.
“They are not coming close to what we have put on the table.”
In late April, Wells Fargo Center workers went on a multi-day strike after Aramark offered workers a 25-cent bump in their hourly rate.
Aramark issued the following statement in response to the no vote: “We are disappointed that the union has rejected our offer, but we intend to keep bargaining in good faith toward a settlement that works for everyone.”