PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Aramark cooks, servers, bartenders and concessions workers on Wednesday took their demands for better pay and benefits to the corporate office on the banks of the Schuylkill River in Center City, Philadelphia.
Wednesday's demonstration was one of the larger ones from the Unite Here Local 274, the food service workers union under Aramark. Hundreds of workers in red t-shirts, holding picket signs, wrapped around the corner of Schuylkill Avenue and Market Street. Previous protests have taken place at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, with workers asking sports fans not to buy food and drink at games and events.
Starting around 4 p.m., the demonstration drew a large Philadelphia police presence and caught the attention of rail commuters arriving at and departing from 30th Street Station, and of drivers — until police closed off Market Street between Schuylkill Avenue and 23rd Street.
Workers say they are on an expired contract and they are still fighting to get what they deserve as their union negotiates a new contract with the food service giant.
The union says its workers make about $14 to $15 an hour in Philadelphia — far less than their counterparts in Chicago and Washington, D.C., who make about $20 to $21 an hour. The union says it has not been happy with Aramark's hourly wage proposal, they say they want year-round work, and there has yet to be any movement on the health care front.
They say they also want to have a united contract among all three South Philly stadiums and arenas. The union says many employees work at all three but are considered part-time at each venue, so they are not eligible for benefits.
Workers unfurled a banner reading "Aramark healthcare now" and hung it over the Schuylkill Avenue guardrail, across the river from Aramark's corporate headquarters.
Later the sign was stretched across Market Street, and more than 40 protesters sat down in front of it and refused to move, in an act of civil disobedience. Police eventually arrested 46 people for obstructing the highway. They have all been processed and released.
A spokesperson for Aramark told KYW in a statement the company respects the right of their employees to demonstrate and said they intend to keep working toward a settlement that works for everyone.