Philadelphia City Council can force higher wages at sports complex

A new proposal in the Philadelphia City Council would force Aramark to raise wages for disgruntled union workers at its South Philadelphia sports complex.

Democratic Council President Kenyatta Johnson joined several other council members on Thursday, November 14, 2024, in introducing a bill that would increase wages for stadium concession vendors.

The bill would amend the city code “to add stadium concession employees as a class of employees entitled to receive prevailing wages, as defined by the city code, of persons who receive city contracts or lease land from the city or a city-related agency, and adding and modifying definitions, and determining when such requirements are effective, all under certain conditions.”

“If you look at the other stadiums around the city of Philadelphia and how much concession stand workers are paid, we are the lowest.” Johnson told NBC10 newsgathering partner KYW Newsradio. “So we have the data that shows we need to increase our concession stand workforce if we’re going to address the problem of poverty here in the city of Philadelphia.”

Earlier this fall, UNITE HERE Philly Local 274 – the union representing cooks, servers, bartenders, dishwashers, concession workers, cleaners and store clerks employed by Aramark – participated in picket lines for several days outside Citizens Bank Park, the Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Field.

Aramark workers have been on strike all day at the South Philadelphia sports complex, demanding better working conditions and wages. They are urging all fans not to purchase food from the concession stands, and City Councilman Mark Squilla also expressed his support. NBC10’s Aaron Baskerville shares more.

The workers are demanding better wages and better working conditions.

For its part, Aramark said it plans to “strongly oppose” any action by the council while still working with the union to agree on a new deal.

“The union leadership continues to take actions that are counterproductive to good-faith negotiations, and our hardworking employees, the majority of whom voluntarily crossed the picket line during the union’s latest intermittent strike, will be the ones who will suffer most from the additional delays in reaching a new contract,” Aramark spokesman Chris Collom told NBC10.

“We are exploring all options to vigorously oppose this bill, given the negative impact the proposed legislation would have on the teams, fans and our operations.”

There is no word yet on when the City Council will revisit the bill.