Dodger Stadium concessions workers will not strike during next week’s 2022 MLB All-Star Game. Earlier this week 99 percent of the roughly 1,500 food and beverage workers represented by Unite Here voted to authorize a strike as members sought “a fair new union contract.”
On Friday, Unite Here announced contract negotiations have progressed and the workers will not strike during the All-Star Game and related events. Here is their statement:
UNITE HERE Local 11 and Compass/Levy at Dodger Stadium have made substantial progress in our contract negotiations this week. On this basis, Local 11 has agreed not to strike during the All Star Game and related events. Both parties look forward to a successful All Star Game and continued negotiations.
As Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times notes, Levy Restaurants, based in Chicago, handles concessions at Dodger Stadium.
Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles is scheduled to host the usual array of All-Star week festivities, beginning with the Futures Game on Saturday. The Home Run Derby is scheduled for Monday, and the All-Star Game itself is slated for Tuesday.
“(Concession workers) are the backbone of our tourism and sports industry, yet many struggle to stay housed and to make ends meet,” Susan Minato, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, told the L.A. Times earlier this week. “They often live with economic uncertainty because the quality of jobs vary stadium to stadium. No worker should have to continue living like this.”
The MLB Players Association released a statement Monday saying players “stand in solidarity” with the concession workers.
Last year, Unite Here workers at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, approved a strike over COVID-19 safety protocols, hazard pay, and other matters, but the dispute was resolved before any labor stoppage took place.
