Aramark workers at Citizens Bank Park approve strike authorization vote; voting continues through the week at Lincoln Financial Field

They arrived hours before first pitch, ready to strike, and the Aramark food and retail workers who voted overwhelmingly Sunday to authorize a work stoppage at Citizens Bank Park said their demands for higher pay and better health care boiled down to a simple message.

“The message is that we’re not accepting pennies no more,” said Samantha Spector, 44, of Northeast Philadelphia, who works as a concessions bartender at the stadium. “They need to bring their money to the table.”

While streaming in for the Phillies’ night game against the Braves, nearly 83% of Aramark employees working at Citizens Bank Park voted to go on strike amid contract negotiations, joining workers at Wells Fargo Center who held brief walkouts twice in April.

With no scheduled game or event at Lincoln Financial Field Sunday, the nearly 1,000 Aramark employees who work Eagles games will continue to vote throughout the week. Those tallies are expected by Friday, said Bethany Holmes, communications director for Unite Here Local 274, the union that represents the workers.

Holmes would not disclose how many votes were cast at Citizens Bank Park Sunday, but she said the union represents about 800 workers there, where a strike watch now starts.

“The negotiating committee could call for a strike at any time,” she said.

The employees are calling on Aramark to provide “family-sustaining wages” and health-care coverage for members.

“We remain committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a settlement that works for all parties,” said Debbie Albert, a senior vice president at Aramark, in a statement Sunday. “Unfortunately, the union and its members voted tonight for a strike at Citizens Bank Park. We have contingency plans in place to ensure our services are not interrupted and that the fan experience remains strong.”

Last year, the international food services company, with nearly 300,000 employees and operations in more than 20 countries, reported nearly $19 billion in revenue. According to the union, despite the company’s success, many full-time stadium staffers still don’t receive health-care coverage from Aramark.

“The hardship is that I can’t go to the doctor,” said Spector, who also works at the Linc and Wells Fargo Center, and serves as the lead union shop steward. “I can’t take care of myself. I work all three buildings, I should have access to health care.”

Sunday’s strike vote follows the union’s decision in July to reject Aramark’s most recent contract proposal for food service workers at the Linc and Citizens Bank Park: an annual raise of 50 cents. That amounts to about 10 cents per year more than the last proposal, according to union officials.

“Aramark’s latest offer is a slap in the face,” said Tiffani Davis, a concessions worker at Citizens Bank Park, after Aramark’s latest proposal. “We work hard to make game days enjoyable for fans, yet we’re struggling to make ends meet. A 10-cent raise is not enough to cover the rising cost of living or provide for our families. We deserve better.”

On Sunday, Davis, 32, of Olney, greeted the long line of voters that stretched down Darian Street. She works two other jobs to pay her bills and care for her grandfather who is ailing with cancer, she said. Many workers did not want to talk to reporters out of fear for their job, she said.

“Some people don’t have a voice, but they are struggling to get by,” she said. “What can we do with 10 cents?”

Food service workers in South Philly make lower wages than their counterparts in other cities. According to the stadium workers union, food service utility workers at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and United Center in Chicago make $21.50 to $21.55 per hour. Hourly pay for those roles at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field is $17.50, said a spokesperson for the union.

Additionally, employees at Chicago’s United Center and Wrigley Field receive free, year-round health insurance if they work a minimum of 910 hours, said the union. Many employees, who work year-round and more than 40 hours per week at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field, don’t receive health insurance and must rely on government assistance or go uninsured, according to the union.

Before Aramark’s latest proposal, stadium union members held a “civil disobedience” protest in June outside Aramark’s Philadelphia headquarters at 2400 Market St. in Center City, disrupting rush-hour traffic. At least 45 participants were arrested.

About 400 employees at Wells Fargo Center, seeking similar wage increases and health-care coverage as other stadiums’ staff, already went on strike twice in April after the company offered a 25-cent raise.

On top of wage increases and health-care coverage, Aramark Unite Here workers are looking for the same contract across all South Philadelphia stadiums and arenas.

Despite having identical job responsibilities at Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field, and Wells Fargo Center and working for the same employer, Aramark employees work under separate contracts and wage rates for each venue, according to the union.

Kathy Hazel, 65, of Broomall, who has worked at Lincoln Financial Field for 24 years and is serving as a member of the union’s negotiating team, said workers want Aramark to count their combined hours so they can be eligible for health care.

“They are an $18 billion corporation headquartered here in Philadelphia, and they have an opportunity to make these good jobs for the workers in Philadelphia,” she said.