Dodger Stadium concession workers prepare to go on strike ahead of All-Star Game

With just days left until the 2022 MLB All-Star Game makes its way to Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium concession workers are poised to hold a strike as they search for a new contract. 

The representing union, Unite Here Local 11, announced the pending strike Monday morning, stating that it could be called "at any moment."

According to Unite Here spokeswoman Maria Hernandez, 99% of the 1,500 employees represented at Dodger Stadium voted to authorize the strike. 

"I voted yes to strike because I often have to pick up shifts at the Rose Bowl just to try to make ends meet. I love working at Dodger Stadium and know that our company can do better, " said Laura Ortiz, a bartender at the stadium for 15 seasons.

The employees consist of bartenders, cooks, servers, dishwashers and suite attendants, all of whom are employed by Compass Group and Levy Restaurants at Dodger Stadium.

"The Dodgers are my life, I even took my engagement pictures at Dodger Stadium. I proudly served Dodger dogs and beers for many years and want our company, Compass/Levy, to recognize our worth and raise standards for all of its stadium workers," said Sylvia Sosa, a fellow bartender with the Dodgers for 46 seasons now.

While specifics were not readily available due to the confidentiality of negotiations, Hernandez told The Los Angeles Times that "the pandemic had put a stark light on the housing and healthcare disparities that workers face."

"That's everybody from the person serving you your Dodger Dog, your beer, up in the premium suites, giving you your peanuts," Hernandez said while speaking with CBS reporter Jake Reiner.

After the union's last contract expired in 2019, it believes concession workers are long overdue for a raise.

"Let's say you work the 80 home games, for example, you probably make what like $12,000 a year," Hernandez said. "Who can survive off of that? You can't."

Earlier in 2022, workers at SoFi Stadium also represented by Unite Here, earned a new contract that included dignified wages, benefits, and other protections. "Levy workers at Dodger Stadium are seeking to win the same rights," Hernandez said.

Oracle Park workers also represented by Unite Here authorized a strike in 2021 over hazard pay and COVID-19 safety protocols in 2021, though an agreement was reached before a work stoppage was called. 

"Stadium workers are proud of the role they play to bring fans the best game experience possible. They are the backbone of our tourism and sports industry, yet many struggle to stay housed and to make ends meet," said Susan Minato, Co-President of Unite Here Local 11, which represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in California and Arizona. "They often live with economic uncertainty because the quality of jobs vary stadium to stadium. No worker should have to continue living like this."

In response to the news, the Dodgers issued a simple statement: "We have no comment at this time."

In a statement, the Major League Baseball Players Association expressed solidarity with Dodger Stadium's workers.

"The MLBPA stands in solidarity with Dodger Stadium concessions workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 11. Like thousands of ballpark workers across the country, Local 11's members are a vital yet under appreciated part of what makes our game great. They deserve to be treated fairly and will continue to have the 1,200 members of the MLBPA behind them."

All-Star Game festivities begin as soon as Saturday with the MLB Futures Game and Celebrity Softball Game before Monday's Home Run Derby and the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday, July 19. 

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The event is supposed to bring tens of thousands of fans from around the nation to Los Angeles, in one of Summer's biggest sporting events. It will be the first time that Dodger Stadium has hosted the event in more than 40 years, after last earning the honors in 1980.