April 25, 2024
Provided Image/Kristianna Brown
Aramark concessions workers at the Wells Fargo Center declared their second strike after workers picketed outside the stadium on April 9 (above).
Aramark workers at the Wells Fargo Center are striking again as they continue to fight for better wages and benefits.
Workers began picketing at 5 a.m. outside the stadium ahead of tonight's 76ers game against the New York Knicks, the first home playoff game in the series. The food service company and workers, who are represented by the Unite Here Local 274 union, have been in negotiations for months.
Aramark has separate contracts with the Wells Fargo Center, Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field and all have expired. Some employees who work 40 hours or more per week at the three venues don't receive full-time benefits because the deals are independent. In negotiations, workers said they're seeking a single contract for all three venues that includes standardized pay rates, health care and higher wages.
Aramark and the Wells Fargo Center did not immediately return a request for comment on the strike.
Lamont McDowell, a cook at the Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Field, said he works about 47 hours per week at the Wells Fargo Center but doesn't receive health care.
"I need health care because I have underlying issues that I haven't had taken care of in a long time," McDowell said. "I have a lot of polyps, and I'm supposed to get them checked every three years. I haven't been checked in about, I think, seven or eight years."
Workers announced the strike at last week's City Council meeting, where they officially gained the support of councilmembers. They haven't given an end date to the strike, saying it will be longer than one day and it's up to Aramark to decide what happens next. Unite Here also added a billboard on Interstate-95 near the stadium with a countdown to the strike.
On April 9, hundreds of workers picketed outside the stadium for a one-day strike after negotiations broke down. McDowell said Aramark resumed negotiations afterward, but it wasn't bargaining "in good faith," offering only a $0.25 hourly raise for wages and attempting to sow division between workers.
During the last strike, McDowell said Aramark hired temp workers to cover for them. Aramark hasn't said what its contingency plans are for the strike, just that it has them.
"Aramark will continue to bargain in good faith with the union and its members to reach an agreement that works for everyone," Aramark said in a statement last week. "We are disappointed the union has announced another strike before responding to the offer discussed at the last bargaining session on April 11. Aramark has contingency plans in place to ensure our services are not interrupted and that the fan experience remains strong during the playoffs."
