Nov 1, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; General view of the exterior of Lincoln Financial Field before a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports Bill Streicher
The Phillies are hosting their final home game of the regular season Wednesday, but doing so without a portion of the Aramark workers that normally staff the stadiums concession stands.
As Aramark workers continue their strike, More Perfect Union spoke to a variety of them, trying to understand what it is that they are fighting for.
NEW: Concession workers for the Eagles, 76ers, and Phillies make as little as $10/hour selling $18 beer.
They’re struggling, often working multiple jobs just to afford health care.
Now they’re on strike against Aramark — one of the largest food service companies on Earth. pic.twitter.com/fmPfUFWH0g
At the heart of this issue is that there are employees who work for Aramark at Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field and Wells Fargo Center. They say that the company treats those as three separate jobs to avoid giving them healthcare benefits. That seems like a pretty reasonable gripe. They are working full-time hours for the company, but not getting the benefits because the hours are counted separately. If you polled the public, probably 75% of respondents would side in favor of the striking workers on that issue. Ditto for the employees frustrated by making $10 an hour.
Phillies Nation's Destiny Lugardo offered an excellent breakdown of the strike, which in addition to the video above, is worth your time if you're trying to get an understanding of the situation.
