Dodger Stadium workers voted 98% to ratify a new contract with Compass Group and Levy Restaurants to bring raises to food servers, bartenders, suite attendants, cooks and dish washers.
The new deal amounts to 75% of Compass/Levy workers at Dodger Stadium being in position to earn more than $30 per hour by the end of the contract in January 2025. Some employees will see increases of more than $13 an hour. Workers also won additional pay in recognition of service during COVID-19 and increased funding for pensions and healthcare.
“This is a historic day for Dodger Stadium workers. As the team goes on to play for the top prize in baseball, the workers who serve the food and pour the drinks have also won. These workers will now earn wages where they can support a family,” Unite Here Local 11 co-president Susan Minato said in a statement.
Compass Group is the sixth-largest company in the world. Its subsidiary, Levy Restaurants, employs nearly 1,500 food servers, bartenders, suite attendants, cooks and dish washers at Dodger Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Dodger Stadium workers, the contract was agreed while the team was on the road for the National League Division Series. The two postseason games were all that wound up being played at Chavez Ravine due to the San Diego Padres winning the NLDS.
Back in July, 99% of union employees voted to strike, which Unite Here Local 11 said would be imposed at any point leading up to All-Star events or during them. However, contract negotiations with Levy resumed, and Dodger Stadium concession have agreed not to strike.
As workers threatened to strike, they garnered support from the MLB Players Association.
They continued to work despite an expired contract, as there was encouraging progress leading up to an agreement being reached last week.
“With these new raises, I will finally be able to afford an apartment of my own instead of sharing a room. This contract will change my life,” said Cheryl Angustain, who has worked four seasons in concessions for Compass/Levy at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers established fund for Dodger Stadium employees
When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic delayed the start of the 2020 season, the Dodgers provided relief funds to Dodger Stadium workers, including event staff, concessions, parking, cleaning personnel employed by third-party contractors, and the Dodgers Foundation event staff.
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