City leaders joined union leaders for a rally at city hall as food service workers with Aramark threaten a strike at Wells Fargo Center in Philly. NBC10’s Leah Uko shows us what the workers are demanding as the negotiations continue.
Hundreds of Philadelphia food service workers are threatening to strike at the Wells Fargo Center.
Members of UNITE HERE Philly Local 274 – the union representing around 600 private sector hotel and food service workers at Philadelphia-area stadiums, airports and hotels – voted 92% in favor of authorizing a strike against Aramark’s operations at the Wells Fargo Center.
Service workers as well as Philadelphia politicians held a rally on Thursday at 1 p.m. at City Hall to call on Aramark – a food service and facilities services provider headquartered in Philadelphia -- to settle a contract that provides “family-sustaining wages and increased access to healthcare,” according to the union.
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“A strike could now occur at any time,” a union spokesperson wrote.
Senator Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia) and Philly councilmembers Isaiah Thomas, Mark Squilla, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Nic O’Rourke, Kendra Brooks, Rue Landau and Jeffrey Young all joined Local 274 President Rosslyn Wuchinich and Aramark workers from the Wells Fargo Center during the afternoon rally.
The rally occurred a few days before WrestleMania in Philadelphia. If a strike were to occur, it would only impact the Wells Fargo Center and not Lincoln Financial Field or Citizens Bank Park.
While WrestleMania will take place at Lincoln Financial Field, WWE's upcoming Friday Night Smackdown, Hall of Fame ceremony and Monday Night Raw events are all set to take place at the Wells Fargo Center.
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Currently, service workers with Aramark make different wages based on which Philly sports stadium they're scheduled to work at.
"We want to get it where all three stadiums have the same contract and the same wages instead of getting 17 at one, 15 at another, 14 at another," Bill Gibson, a 25-year Aramark employee, told NBC10. "We want it all to be straight across the board."
During Thursday's rally, union leaders said Aramark workers need raises, consistent pay and health benefits.
NBC10 reached out to Aramark for a response.
“We remain committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a settlement that works for all parties," an Aramark spokesperson wrote. "In the event of a strike, we have contingency plans in place to ensure our services are not interrupted and that the fan experience remains strong.”
Part of that contingency plan would include continuing to work with third parties and hire temp workers. The city councilmembers who attended the rally however said a better plan would be to give existing employees what they deserve.
"I would agree $15 an hour was a livable wage," City councilmember at-large Isaiah Thomas said. "But where we are right now, studies say we need to make $75,000 to live in the city of Philadelphia."
Negotiations are ongoing. A union representative told NBC10 they're prepared to strike as soon as Friday, however.
