Dodger Stadium Concession Workers Threaten Strike Ahead of 2022 MLB All-Star Game

Ninety-nine percent of concession employees at Dodger Stadium have voted to authorize a strike that could commence "at any time," Unite Here spokesperson Maria Hernandez said in a statement Monday, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

Dodger Stadium is hosting this year's All-Star Game and its various events, including the Home Run Derby, starting Saturday with the Futures Game.

The derby will be held Monday, while the All-Star Game will take place Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The food and beverage workers, who are employed by Chicago-based Levy Restaurants, are seeking "a fair new union contract," per Hernandez's statement. Specific demands were not provided.

The approximately 1,500 concession workers include "food servers, bartenders, suite attendants, cooks and dishwashers at Dodger Stadium."

"They are the backbone of our tourism and sports industry, yet many struggle to stay housed and to make ends meet," Susan Minato, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, told Shaikin. "They often live with economic uncertainty because the quality of jobs vary stadium to stadium. No worker should have to continue living like this."

Last year, concession workers at San Francisco's Oracle Stadium represented by Unite Here authorized a strike after "negotiations over COVID safety, health care and hazard pay stalled."

That strike was averted after workers agreed to a deal with subcontractor Bon Appetit that guaranteed pay raises and improved health care and pension plans.