Barclays Center food concession workers rally outside arena to presage strike vote; they seek higher wages from Levy Restaurants and better access to healthcare benefit

Workers for Barclays Center food concessionaire Levy Restaurants rallied outside the arena on June 22, the day of the NBA draft, as part of the effort by the hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 100 to gain a new contract to pay better wages and ensure healthcare benefits.

Hey, @LevyRestaurants it’s about time! What you pay is a crime! Levy workers at Barclays Center have an expired union contract - so workers took to the streets to demand a new one with wage increases and healthcare. pic.twitter.com/ZiST7EGAdb

— UNITEHERE! Local100 (@unitehere100) June 23, 2023

Of the 650 workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 100, only 66 of them qualified for health insurance, according to union rep Alyssa Pollard. She said they aim to get at least 200 qualified under a new contract.

Depending on when the worker started, they either have to work 900 hours in the previous contract year--that's 17.3 hours a week--or average 30 hours a week. So it's plausible that some could average, say, 25 hours a week, or 1,300 hours, and still not qualify.

The number of hours worked varies based on classification, seniority, and the number of events booked at the arena, Pollard noted.

Better pay sought

The press release noted that the "mostly Black and Latinx suite attendants, concessions cashiers, bartenders, cooks, and other food service workers" earn less than $19 an hour.

As reported by NetsDaily--the only press outlet to cover the picketing--the workers seek a $20/hour floor. According to Pollard, bartenders, bar servers, barbacks, servers, server assistants/runners, prep cooks, stand leads, assistant stand leads (head cashiers), and dishwashers all start at under $20 an hour. 

That represents "many"--presumably most--of the workers, but she didn't have a specific figure. Last September, I reported that Levy Restaurants was advertising some jobs at $15.45/hour to $17.20/hour.

It's unclear how the $20/hour goal compares with wages at other area venues. A Concessions Cashier at Yankee Stadium, for example, starts at $17.05/hour.

Strike coming?

The workers at Barclays Center will take a strike authorization vote on July 17. The most recent contract, starting 9/1/18 and lasting four years, actually expired last August, but was extended. Talks broke down recently.

A strike in summer, leading into fall, would presumably be aimed to pressure the arena as it moves into its busier season for concerts and Brooklyn Nets games. 

“Because I’ve been at Levy at Barclays since 2012, I’ve been able to see everything come together — a lot of it was off the back of the Brooklyn worker," said Lashawn Sanders, who gets Medicaid instead of Levy-provided health care benefits, in the press release.

Beyond food service

Meanwhile, ASM Global, which manages the arena's non-F&B operations, has some openings under $20/hour: a security officer for $16.65/hour and an administrative services assistant at $17.50/hour. A guest services supervisor would earn $24/hour.

Note: none of these workers work directly for the overall arena operating company, BSE Global, owned now by Joe Tsai, but jobs at the arena--however part-time--were part of the evolving justification for the project.

BSE Global has contracts with Levy and ASM Global to manage various parts of arena operations and thus has indirect responsibility for its subcontractors' wages and benefits.