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CBS News
6 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Fenway Park workers' union says strike is imminent, asks Boston Red Sox fans not to buy food or drinks
The union representing Aramark workers at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall in Boston is giving the company two days to settle a new contract before they go on strike. The bargaining committee for UNITE HERE Local 26 said Aramark has until noon on Friday, July 25. The strike would last three days, during a homestand the Boston Red Sox have with the Los Angeles Dodgers. If a strike happens, the union is asking fans to support striking workers by not buying food or drink at Fenway. Workers are fighting for standard, city-wide wages and guardrails on automation. Carlos Aramayo, the president of UNITE HERE Local 26, said people who do similar work at nearby Boston University or Simmons University are making at least $10 more. He said they've been bargaining with Fenway Park and Aramark for six months. "There are major issues at stake here. Folks at the park are paid poverty wages, many who start at the park have to make minimum wage to work their way up to 18 dollars and change. That is not acceptable at America's Ballpark," said Aramayo. Another issue is replacing staff with automated machines that Aramayo said is taking jobs away from workers and claims makes Fenway less safe. "Making alcohol potentially available to minors, making alcohol potentially available to folks that are going to be overserved," said Aramayo. "There used to be four beer sellers at one particular stand, now there is one person watching over four of these machines. So there you lose three people who once had a job that once earned wages, that once received gratuity now receive nothing," said Charbel Salambh, who's worked as a beer seller at Fenway for 28 years. ""Every company, everywhere you walk into, grocery stores, supermarkets, Target, Walmart. They're all doing self-checkout and it just takes away jobs anywhere." Amanda Savage, a stand worker at Fenway for the past 18 years, said she's earning half as much as she did because people aren't tipping with the automated machines. "We would prefer a contract that our untipped workers can live on, we would prefer a contract that doesn't replace me with a machine. I have worked here since high school, I am also a fourth grade teacher, I stay at Fenway because I love it." She added many of the workers at Fenway also work second jobs. Aramayo is asking Red Sox fans who attend the Dodgers series this weekend to not purchase any concessions as a show of solidarity. "We are the soul of Fenway Park. When people come to Boston, when people go to Fenway, they come not just to see a great ballgame, they come for the cultural experience. They come to experience what is the truth of Boston," said Aramayo. Laura Crystal, a stand worker at Fenway who's also working a second job as a teacher, agreed. "You come here for an experience. You're not just coming to Fenway Park to watch a baseball game. You're coming here because it's cool, it's exciting, it's a landmark, it's historical. There's a huge legacy to Fenway Park and we strongly feel that we're part of that and that we provide that hospitality that makes that experience elevated. So when you remove us, you really do remove the soul of the park," said Crystal. In a statement sent to WBZ-TV, Aramark said, "In the event of a strike, we have contingency plans in place to ensure that fans will not encounter service interruptions. We will continue to work with the union to try to reach an agreement."
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Young Kim draws another Democratic challenger in California
A 26-year-old Democratic labor organizer calling for a 'new generation' of leadership in Washington will announce his campaign Monday to unseat GOP Rep. Young Kim in California's Orange County. Perry Meade joins a wide field of challengers running for the 40th District seat held by Kim, one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's top targets in the state. Kim won the seat by more than 10 percentage points in 2024. But the district has swung back and forth in recent years, with Joe Biden winning it in 2020 before Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris by more than two percentage points there in 2024. Meade, the youngest member of the Democratic Party of Orange County's central committee, is making affordability the thrust of his campaign. In a campaign launch video, he asks, 'Can we just catch a fucking break?' Meade, a labor organizer with UNITE HERE Local 11, said in an interview that he wants to see a Democratic Party in Congress that "unapologetically" fights for affordability, adding that he feels a responsibility to 'fight back.' He took aim at the Trump administration's deployment last month of the National Guard to immigration raid protests in Los Angeles, as well as recent crackdowns at farms and businesses. 'I think it's time that we have a new generation of leaders as well, and a new generation of leaders that has this lived experience and is willing to fight in the halls of Congress to deliver on these things that our community needs,' said Meade, the West Coast regional organizer at March For Our Lives. The Rancho Santa Margarita native joins several Democrats eyeing California's 40th District, including Kim's 2024 challenger, Joe Kerr; former Chino Valley school board member and attorney Christina Gagnier; Los Angeles art dealer Esther Kim Varet; consultant Paula Swift; and entrepreneur and nonprofit leader Nina Linh. Meade's support includes endorsements from Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento and state Sens. Catherine Blakespear, Sasha Renee Perez and Maria Elena Durazo.
Politico
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Young Kim draws another Democratic challenger in California
Meade, the youngest member of the Democratic Party of Orange County's central committee, is making affordability the thrust of his campaign. In a campaign launch video , he asks, 'Can we just catch a fucking break?' Meade, a labor organizer with UNITE HERE Local 11, said in an interview that he wants to see a Democratic Party in Congress that 'unapologetically' fights for affordability, adding that he feels a responsibility to 'fight back.' He took aim at the Trump administration's deployment last month of the National Guard to immigration raid protests in Los Angeles, as well as recent crackdowns at farms and businesses. 'I think it's time that we have a new generation of leaders as well, and a new generation of leaders that has this lived experience and is willing to fight in the halls of Congress to deliver on these things that our community needs,' said Meade, the West Coast regional organizer at March For Our Lives. The Rancho Santa Margarita native joins several Democrats eyeing California's 40th District, including Kim's 2024 challenger, Joe Kerr; former Chino Valley school board member and attorney Christina Gagnier; Los Angeles art dealer Esther Kim Varet; consultant Paula Swift; and entrepreneur and nonprofit leader Nina Linh. Meade's support includes endorsements from Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento and state Sens. Catherine Blakespear, Sasha Renee Perez and Maria Elena Durazo.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Northwestern University food service workers ratify new contract after March strike
Food service workers at Northwestern University have agreed to a new contract, after going on a 12-day strike earlier this year. About 500 workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 1 – including cooks, cashiers, dishwashers, and catering staff – ratified the new contract on Friday with Compass Group, the university's food service provider. The new four-year contract includes a $4 per hour raise by Sept. 1, bringing the workers' minimum pay up to $25.68 per hour. Workers will get a total of $8 per hour in raises over the life of the contract. Compass also will increase its pension contributions by 250%. Workers staged a 12-day strike in March as they fought for a new contract. Their previous deal had expired in August 2024. The new contract will include back pay.
CBS News
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Workers at First Avenue, its 6 sister clubs, ratify first union contract
MINNEAPOLIS — Workers at legendary Minneapolis music venue First Avenue and its six Twin Cities sister clubs have ratified their first-ever union contract in a unanimous vote this weekend. UNITE HERE Local 17 announced the ratification on Tuesday for 230 event and service staff at the downtown Minneapolis spots First Avenue, neighboring 7th Street Entry and Union Depot, and Fine Line. It also covers three St. Paul venues: Fitzgerald Theater, Palace Theater and Turf Club. Union officials say the three-year contract includes "big raises, longevity pay," "improved scheduling, training and safety policies" and "protections for LGBT+ workers." Employees first announced their intent to unionize in 2023, which management voluntarily recognized. First Avenue, now in its 55th year of operation, is one of the most hallowed music clubs in the world, due in large part to its connection to Prince, who featured it prominently in his hit 1985 movie "Purple Rain." Originally a Greyhound bus station from 1937 to 1968, First Avenue was repurposed into a club in 1970. Its iconic exterior is now adorned with more than 400 silver stars featuring the names of artists who've taken the main stage — including a single gold star for Prince. According to its website, UNITE HERE is a New York-based labor union representing 300,000 U.S. and Canadian workers in the "hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation and airport industries."
