A new proposal in Philadelphia City Council would force Aramark to increase the pay for disgruntled union workers at South Philadelphia's Sports Complex.
Democratic Council President Kenyatta Johnson joined several other council members on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in introducing a bill that would increase wages for concession sellers at stadiums.
The bill would amend the city code "to add Stadium Concessions Employees as a class of workers entitled to receive prevailing wages, as defined by the City Code, from persons receiving City contracts or leasing land from the City or a City-related agency, adding and modifying definitions, and establishing when such requirements are effective, all under certain terms and conditions."
"If you look at the other stadiums surrounding the city of Philadelphia and how much concession stand workers get paid, we are the lowest,” Johnson told NBC10 newsgathering partner KYW Newsradio. “So we have the data that shows we should be elevating our concession stand workers when we’re addressing the issue of poverty here in the city of Philadelphia.”
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Earlier this fall, UNITE HERE Philly Local 274 -- the union that represents cooks, servers, bartenders, dishwashers, concession workers, cleaners and retail workers employed by Aramark -- took part in picket lines for several days outside Citizens Bank Park, the Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Field.
The workers are demanding better wages and improved benefits.
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For its part, Aramark said it plans to "vigorously oppose" any action from council while still working with the union to reach agreement on a new deal
“The union leadership continues to take actions that are counterproductive to good faith bargaining, and our hardworking employees, the majority of whom voluntarily crossed the picket line during the union’s last intermittent strike, are the ones who will suffer most from the additional delay in reaching a new contract," Aramark spokesperson Chris Collom told NBC10.
"We are exploring all options to vigorously oppose this bill given the negative impact the proposed legislation would have on the teams, the fans, and our operations."
No word yet on when council may revisit the bill.
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