As Aramark food workers strike at the Wells Fargo Center, Sixers fans show mixed support

Sixers season ticket holder Jenna Tesauro made sure she didn’t arrive hungry to Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons. She wanted to support the striking Aramark employees who cook and serve food and drinks at the Wells Fargo Center, and who walked off the job on Tuesday as they seek a new union contract.

“We’ll grab a beer or two over at Xfinity, but we’ll otherwise eat before we come and go out for a beer afterward,” said Tesauro.

As game time approached, about 100 picketers marched along Broad Street near the arena. Workers and supporters of the strike held signs that read “On Strike! At Aramark” and “On Strike! Don’t Patronize Aramark.” Trucks and cars driving by honked in support.

Four hundred members of Unite Here Local 274 called the work stoppage at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, and planned to strike through the end of Tuesday’s Sixers game.

Many of the unionized Aramark employees who work at the Wells Fargo Center also work at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field. The two other stadiums will not be affected by the strike.

“Workers have been waiting for the opportunity to stand up for significant wage increases and benefits that recognize the fact that they work in all three stadiums, for a long time,” said Rosslyn Wuchinich, president of Local 274. “It became clear that the company was nowhere close to agreeing to the wages and health care these workers need.”

Unite Here members asked fans not to buy food and drink from the vendors inside the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday, but encouraged them not to skip the game.

“We don’t want to stop anyone from having fun,” said EJ Otto, a club attendant at the Wells Fargo Center. “We have our regulars and we don’t want them to have a bad experience, obviously, but just take that little extra step to bring your own food or drinks out to the tailgate.”

Inside the Wells Fargo Center, all concession stands were open and lines seemed short to moderate for food and drinks just ahead of tipoff.

Caroline Walter, 26, and boyfriend Jake Bugbee, 26, said they support the workers, but hadn’t had a chance to eat before the game.

“Unfortunately, we’re not voting with our dollar right now,” Walter said.

Asked how they felt about crossing the picket line, they said in unison: “It sucks.”

Aramark spokesperson Chris Collom said Tuesday that the company had “contingency plans in place to ensure our services are not interrupted and that the fan experience remains strong.”

“Aramark remains committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a settlement that works for all parties,” Collom said.

The Wells Fargo Center, which is owned by Comcast Spectacor and recently completed a $400 million renovation, hosts about 220 events each year, including Sixers and Flyers games.

Representatives for both teams would not comment, referring questions to Wells Fargo Center staff.

“Comcast Spectacor is a pro-employee company with a long history of supporting unionized workforces and their rights,” the Wells Fargo spokesperson said. “We trust that Unite Here and Aramark will work constructively to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.”

The union is seeking a standard minimum wage and health benefits for the hundreds of Aramark employees at all three South Philadelphia stadiums — the Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Field, and Citizens Bank Park. More than 90% of workers voted to authorize a strike late last month if negotiations did not progress.

“There were some things that were lopsided” in the union’s contract with Aramark, said Kathy Hazel, a suite attendant at the Wells Fargo Center for 23 years and who has been at Lincoln Financial Field for three.

Hazel has health insurance through her husband’s employer, she said, but other workers pay for their own insurance or go without. Angel Pizzo, a club attendant at Wells Fargo Center since 2011, said she recently switched from a health plan that costs $700 a month to one that costs $400 a month, but she has to pay more out-of-pocket for care.

Fewer than 20 of Aramark’s hundreds of Wells Fargo Center workers have year-round health insurance, the union said, while 210 qualify for partial-year prescription and doctor visit coverage, but not hospital emergency care.

“It would be great to get some type of health insurance,” said Pizzo, who also works as a suite attendant at Lincoln Financial Field. “Due to the pandemic and inflation and everything, food prices are rising, gas is rising, rent is rising, but our pay isn’t rising.”

The union has proposed that any member who works 750 hours a year across all three venues combined should be eligible for full-year health insurance. Aramark has countered with a minimum of 1,500 hours, according to Unite Here.

The union’s contracts with Aramark expired on March 17 for Wells Fargo and Lincoln Financial workers, and at the end of March for Citizens Bank Park workers. Bargaining started in December, and members want one contract for all three facilities.

“We just don’t think Aramark really sees our value … They didn’t take us seriously,” said Otto, the club attendant who is also a bartender at Lincoln Financial Field.

The minimum pay rate varies among the three facilities. At Wells Fargo Center, utility workers and dishwashers make $14.11 an hour while concession stand workers make $15.29. Concession stand workers start at $15.55 at Lincoln Financial Field, and $16.05 at Citizens Bank Park.

Aramark is headquartered in Philadelphia and employs roughly 8,000 workers in the region. The company staffs entertainment venues all over the globe and has more than 260,000 employees across its food services, facilities management, and other divisions.

After taking a hard hit to profitability during the first two years of the pandemic, Aramark has rebounded and shown significant revenue growth in the last two years. The company reported more than $18.8 billion in revenue and net income of $673 million in its most recent fiscal year, which ended in September.

Unite Here members began picketing at the stadium complex last month after their contract expired, and last week held a news conference at City Hall with multiple City Council members calling on Aramark to reach an agreement with the union.

Council members Mark Squilla, Rue Landau, Jeffery Young Jr., and Jim Harrity joined the picket on Tuesday evening.

“These workers, they need better wages, and they need benefits, and need better worker protections,” said Squilla. “We want Aramark to come back to the table, negotiate in good faith, and get people back to work.”

This is the first time Aramark employees have gone on strike with Unite Here in Philadelphia.

The strike comes as the Wells Fargo Center faces uncertainty and opportunity.

On Monday, the Wells Fargo Center put the finishing touches on a multiyear, $400 million renovation, adding LED digital boards to the exterior as part of a transformation that has touched virtually everything but the steel and concrete.

The tenant Sixers, who say the renovations won’t significantly extend the life of the nearly 30-year-old center, want to build their own downtown arena and move there when their lease expires in 2031. At the same time, Comcast Spectacor has partnered with the Phillies on plans to build a $2.5 billion sports-and-entertainment complex in the South Philadelphia stadium district.

The picketing crowd on Tuesday evening included Save Chinatown Coalition members Debbie Wei and Will Gross, who are leading efforts to oppose the proposed Sixers arena on East Market Street.

“We’re fighting an arena ourselves and we know that they don’t bring jobs that have living wages,” said Wei.

”These are folks that work themselves tired for a company that is able to provide,” said Gross. “They’re not asking for much.”

Jeff Gammage and Julia Terruso contributed to this article.