Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Just when you thought we were done with labor unrest in MLB, this gets dropped in our lap. According to multiple media reports, Workers employed by concessionaire Compass Group and its subsidiary — Levy Restaurants — voted 99% to authorize a strike, which could begin at any time. The union is seeking what it calls “a fair new contract.”
Some Dodger fans will be interested to learn that the folks who sell us our beers, Dodger Dogs, and helmet nachos are not, in fact, employees of the club. They are in fact employees of a subcontractor, Levy restaurants, which has been handling all concessions at the Stadium since 2010. This is not an unusual arrangement, as it is common for big league teams to farm out a lot of the day-to-day operations of their stadium to other companies so that the team itself can focus on putting a winning product on the field.
The Major League Baseball Players Association said Monday it stands with the stadium workers. “They deserve to be treated fairly and will continue to have the 1,200 members of the MLBPA behind them,” a statement said.
As a guy who worked concessions at the Metrodome in Minneapolis for a year, I can attest, it’s tough work. Your stand never has enough workers to keep the line moving, and the work is almost non-stop for four or five hours straight, plus all the pre-game food prep time that is required. Plus, because of the home/away schedule of major league teams, you might go two weeks without working while the Boys in Blue are on the road. I don’t know what the workers getting paid by Levy, but I imagine, it’s somewhere around the minimum wage. It’s tough to make ends meet working 82 days over six months.
Plus, Levy Restaurants is already on my naughty list for telling Roger the peanut guy he can’t throw bags to fans anymore. I don’t doubt that the workers could use a little bump in wages. They’ll never have more power than they do this week. The last thing the game needs is for fans to be reminded of the lockout ugliness on All Star game weekend. With the MLBPA on their side, the workers should press their case now, cuz they’ll never have a better opportunity.
