Global Courant
Hundreds of game-day workers at Dodger Stadium could go on strike as early as next month if the Dodgers fail to meet their contract demands by the end of June, the union representing workers said after more than 80 people gathered outside the ballpark to protest Saturday. .
According to the workers SEIU USWW officials, are calling for a 43% to 45% wage increase over five years and an increase in the Dodgers’ employer contribution to health care. The union said it represents about 500 ushers, groundskeepers, security officers and other stadium employees in the negotiations. The two sides are expected to return to the negotiating table on Friday.
“In the 27 years I have worked for SEIU representing these workers, we have never had to go on strike,” said SEIU USWW President David Huerta. “But the conditions that we’re looking at — if you look at inflation, you look at the profitability of this organization, the cost of living — the wages that are being negotiated now, these workers understand that this is a time for them to be able to negotiate what they find what they need to survive in this city.
And I think this organization that represents the Dodgers, that represents the city of Los Angeles, needs to be aware of the fact that they’re just not a baseball club. It is an employer that employs many people and those people must be able to receive a living wage.”
Union officials said they have been negotiating with the Dodgers since November. Their latest deal, a five-year agreement with an 18% increase over the term, expired on January 31. They have been working on the expired contract ever since.
Union spokesman Sebastian Silva said the lowest paid ushers and janitors make $17.28 an hour and the lowest paid security guards make $19.48 an hour, with differences for seniority. Part-time gardeners earn $19.80 per hour and full-time gardeners receive $31.72 per hour. Silva said most union members are seasonal workers.
“We are in active negotiations with the Union and we fully expect the parties to reach an agreement soon,” the Dodgers said in a statement.
One of Dodger Stadium’s two full-time gardeners, Frank Torres began working at Dodger Stadium in 1988 as a part-time security guard. He said contract negotiations have never been more controversial.
“The Dodgers aren’t the Dodgers anymore,” Torres said. “This is business America.”
Protests on Vin Scully Avenue began at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, just hours before the Dodgers played host to the New York Yankees for the Coastal Powers’ second of three games this weekend. The protesters wore purple T-shirts and cowbells. They sang in English and Spanish. Some drivers honked their horns in solidarity as they passed.
Irene Aguilar, the main labor leader for the workers and a Dodger Stadium usher, said the union chose to protest Saturday, knowing that the game will be televised nationally, while ensuring the demonstration ends early enough so that employees can report to work on time.
“We feel like they’re not listening to our voices,” Aguilar said. “And we just want our voices to be heard.”
Aguilar, who has worked at Dodger Stadium since 1997, said workers seek wages “similar” to what other Dodger Stadium employees have received.
In October, concession workers agreed to a contract that included at least a $10 raise for two years after threatening to abandon the All-Star Game three months earlier. However, those employees are employed by Levy Restaurants, a Chicago-based company that operates the concessions at Dodger Stadium. The 500 workers now looking for a contract are now direct employees of the Dodgers.
“We want the Dodgers to start treating us like family again,” Aguilar said. “Treat us workers like family. It just seems like, you know, they’re in charge and we’re their workers.
“And before that—I’ve been here long enough to know the O’Malleys—we were a family. We used to get a lot of stuff. You know, the Dodgers would be handing out ice cream in the first place. And we don’t understand that anymore. Our front office still works, (but) we don’t understand that anymore. Little things like that make us feel like family. So since they don’t do that anymore, well then, you know what, let’s get the paycheck.
