Protesters arrested in picket at Aramark's Center City headquarters; food workers call for better pay and benefits
Unite Here Local 274 is pushing for pay increases and health benefits for its members. The union has held other recent strikes and pickets.
Members of Unite Here Local 274, which represents Aramark workers at the Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Field, and Citizens Bank Park, picketed the company at its headquarters in Center City.
At least 45 demonstrators were taken into custody during Wednesday's protest.
The union says its sports complex food service workers earn substantially less than food service workers in other major cities, and fewer than 20 employees there have year-round health insurance. It is pushing for pay increases and health benefits for its members.
Union members have held strikes and pickets against the company in recent months, including at the Wells Fargo Center during Sixers games in March.
Recap: At least 45 Aramark food workers arrested during Center City demonstration for better pay and health benefits
Union members working for Aramark at the South Philadelphia sports complex conducted a “civil disobedience” protest in Center City late Wednesday afternoon, with at least 45 participants arrested as they disrupted rush-hour traffic to draw attention to their monthslong struggle to get new contracts with better pay and health benefits.
Starting around 4 p.m. several hundred members of Unite Here Local 274 gathered outside Aramark’s headquarters at 2400 Market St. with a giant inflatable cigar-smoking “fat cat” and marched in the area chanting and holding signs that read, “Aramark unfair. Equal treatment now!” They were joined by demonstrators from other cities, including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Protesters then moved to the street, and sat in the middle of the Market Street Bridge, where police issued three warnings telling them that they risked arrest. Following the final warning around 5:30 p.m., police in a slow and orderly fashion made their first arrest, and began removing demonstrators.
» READ MORE: Recap: At least 45 Aramark food workers arrested during Center City demonstration for better pay and health benefits
— Jeff Gammage, Robert Moran, and Hannah Nguyen
'Aramark is a billion dollar company and can afford to pay workers a living wage'
Samantha Spector works several jobs at all three stadiums, including as a club attendant and concessions bartender.
She struggles to afford her own healthcare on top of providing for her 9-year-old daughter as a single mother.
On Wednesday, Spector planned to get arrested.
45 demonstrators were taken into custody, police say
Shortly after 6 p.m., the demonstration at Aramark's Center City headquarters had largely disbanded.
Police said that over the course of the picket, about 45 demonstrators were taken into custody.
UNITE HERE spokesperson Kristianna Brown called the demonstration a success, "amazing," and "really beautiful."
Aramark spokesperson: 'We respect the right of our employees to demonstrate'
An Aramark spokesperson offered a statement in response to the protest outside the company's headquarters.
"We respect the right of our employees to demonstrate. We have had several meetings with the bargaining committee in an effort to reach a new agreement, and we intend to keep working toward a settlement that works for everyone," said Chris Collom, vice president of corporate communications.
"We will continue to focus on delivering an outstanding fan experience for our clients and customers and would like to thank our dedicated employees from around the organization for supporting our ongoing contingency plans," Collom said.
— Robert Moran
'You don't know how much power you can gain unless you stand up for yourself'
Tiffani Davis stood with her Aramark co-workers to demand healthcare coverage and higher wages, so future employees don’t have to.
Davis, 31, who works in concessions, financially supports her uncle who has lung cancer.
“We're worried that we’re going to miss time with our kids. We're worried about our bills, we're worried about all these different things,” Davis said. “Why do we have to worry about these things while working for a billion-dollar company?”
Police make first arrest after warning demonstrators to clear street
During the picket, a number of demonstrators sat down in the street near Aramark's headquarters, chanting and holding signs.
Police issued three warnings to the protesters in the street, telling them that they risked arrest. Following the final warning at around 5:30 p.m., police made their first arrest, and began removing demonstrators from the street.
Protesters being removed from the scene voluntarily stood, placed their hands behind their backs, and were handcuffed with plastic ties before being led to waiting police wagons.
— Nick Vadala, Jeff Gammage, and Hannah Nguyen
Photos: Aramark workers protest outside company headquarters
Police block traffic on Market Street amid demonstration
Philadelphia police have blocked traffic from entering Market Street from 23rd Street to Schuylkill Avenue amid Wednesday's picket.
Demonstrators largely remained on the sidewalk and road near Aramark's headquarters at 24th and Market Streets.
Officers at the scene said they wouldn't intervene in the demonstration because it had remained peaceful. Authorities estimated that the picket would result in roadblocks for two to three hours.
— Nick Vadala, Jeff Gammage, and Hannah Nguyen
200 demonstrators gather near Aramark headquarters in Center City
Roughly 200 demonstrators gathered near the Aramark headquarters at 24th and Market in Center City to picket the company Wednesday afternoon.
Picketers came from cities including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., to attend the demonstration. Participants marched in the area chanting and holding signs that read "Aramark unfair. Equal treatment now!"
"Ain't no power like the power of the workers, cause the power of the workers don't stop," some participants chanted.
Union workers have held other strikes and pickets against Aramark in recent months
Aramark workers represented by Unite Here Local 274 have picketed and held strikes over the company's treatment of employees in recent months.
In March, for example, food service workers at the Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park held a picket outside the Wells Fargo Center demanding a standard minimum wage and health benefits for the venues' hundreds of employees.
At the time, the union had proposed that any member working 750 hours per year across all three venues should be eligible for full-year health insurance. Aramark countered with a minimum of 1,500 hours, Unite Here organizers said.
What the UNITE HERE Local 274 union wants
UNITE HERE Local 274 says it’s battling for family-sustaining pay increases and health benefits, seeking a standard minimum wage and health-care package for the hundreds of Aramark employees at the South Philadelphia sports venues — the Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Field, and Citizens Bank Park.
Many UNITE HERE members work at two or all three of the facilities, but the company has three different contracts with the workers’ union.
Fewer than 20 of Aramark’s hundreds of Wells Fargo Center workers have year-round health insurance, the union said. About 210 qualify for partial-year prescription and doctor visit coverage, but not hospital emergency care.
— Jeff Gammage
Aramark is headquartered in Philly
Aramark is headquartered in Philadelphia and employs roughly 8,000 workers in the region. But it staffs entertainment venues across the globe, with more than 260,000 employees in divisions that include food services and facilities management.
After taking a hit to profitability during the first two years of the pandemic, Aramark has rebounded and shown significant revenue growth. The company reported more than $18.8 billion in revenue, along with net income of $673 million, during the fiscal year that ended in September.
— Jeff Gammage