The MLB All-Star Game Might Not Have Concession Workers. Here’s Why.

The workers who serve food and drinks, cook, and wash dishes at one of the most iconic ballparks in the country authorized a strike Monday—a week before Major League Baseball’s All-Star game comes to that stadium.

UNITE Here Local 11—the union representing nearly 1,500 food servers, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, and suite attendants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles—announced Monday that 99 percent of workers had voted to authorize a strike, which could begin at any time. 

The workers are employed not by the Los Angeles Dodgers but by Compass Group, a UK-based food contractor that touts itself as the sixth-largest employer in the world, and its subsidiary Levy Restaurants. 

Dodger Stadium workers are seeking a new contract and higher wages, two years after the pandemic shut down sports and left stadium and arena workers in a precarious position. 

“I voted yes to strike because I often have to pick up shifts at the Rose Bowl just to try to make ends meet,” bartender Laura Ortiz, who has worked at Dodger Stadium for 15 seasons, said in a statement. “I love working at Dodger Stadium and know our company can do better.”

The All-Star Game is next Tuesday, but events will begin Saturday with the All-Star Futures game featuring top prospects, then the first day of the annual draft on Sunday, and the Home Run Derby on Monday night. 

“The Dodgers are my life—I even took my engagement pictures at Dodger Stadium,” Sylvia Sosa, who has worked at the stadium for 46 seasons, said in the statement. “I proudly served Dodger dogs and beers for many years and want our company, Compass/Levy, to recognize our worth and raise standards for all of its stadium workers.”

Neither Compass Group nor the Dodgers immediately responded to a request for comment.

The Major League Baseball Players’ Association, the union representing more than 1,000 MLB players, expressed support for the ballpark workers in a statement Tuesday.

“The MLBPA stands in solidarity with Dodger Stadium concessions workers represented by UNITE Here Local 11,” the players' union said in a statement. “Like thousands of ballpark workers across the country, Local 11’s members are a vital yet underappreciated part of what makes our game great.”

“They deserve to be treated fairly and will continue to have the 1,200 members of the MLBPA behind them.”

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