Aramark workers at Citizens Bank Park vote to authorize a strike

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Aramark food and beverage workers at Citizens Bank Park voted Sunday to authorize a strike with an 83% majority. The company’s workers at Lincoln Financial Field are also holding a strike authorization vote through the end of the week.

Represented by Unite Here Philly Local 274, workers at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field overwhelmingly rejected Aramark’s most recent contract proposal at the end of July. They also rallied outside of Citizens Bank Park ahead of Bruce Springsteen’s concert Aug. 23.

Aramark workers at the Wells Fargo Center held a strike in April, and in June, hundreds of workers protested outside of Aramark headquarters in Center City.

Workers’ demands include year-round health care benefits, family-sustaining wages and standard contract language, wages and responsibilities across positions at both stadiums. Currently, contracts and wages for workers differ from stadium to stadium.

Carlton Epps, a suite attendant at Citizens Bank Park who also works for Aramark at both Lincoln Financial Field and the Wells Fargo Center, said he and his coworkers “deserve better.”

“We have people in these buildings working over 20 years [who] don’t make $20 an hour,” he said.

Samantha Spector, a concessions bartender who works for Aramark year-round at all three stadiums, said she has no health care.

“The price of food is up. Rents are going up. Property taxes are going up,” said Spector, who is the lead shop steward for the union. “We all need to be able to make a living. And having access to health care is a human right.”

Epps said Aramark employees are integral to fans’ experience at Phillies and Eagles games, as well as other events at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field.

“We’re the ones that interface with the guests all the time,” he said. “We make their experience for them, and for them to treat us this way, don’t care like we’re irreplaceable, it’s very disrespectful to me.”

The results of the union strike vote for Citizens Bank Park, which includes roughly 800 Aramark workers, were announced Sunday evening. Aramark employees who work at Lincoln Financial Field will continue their vote throughout the week, with results to be announced Friday.

“We remain committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a settlement that works for all parties,” an Aramark spokesperson told WHYY News in an email. “Unfortunately, the union and its members voted tonight for a strike at Citizens Bank Park. We have contingency plans in place to ensure our services are not interrupted and that the fan experience remains strong.”

Kathy Hazel, a suite attendant at the Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Field and a member of the negotiating committee, said the strike authorization vote is part of a push to bring Aramark “back to the table” in their contract negotiations. Hazel said workers lowered their hourly wage request by $2 in negotiations. In comparison, the last contract proposal from Aramark raised the hourly wage by 10 cents.

“We need to catch up,” she said. “These are good jobs for the city of Philadelphia, the people that live here. There’s transportation for them. There’s so many reasons that we just gotta finally fix it and make it a really worthwhile job. We have a lot of workers that worked here 10 and more years, so we just want them to be treated fairly.”

Aramark reported more than $18 billion in revenue in 2023.