Photo by Matthew LeJune, via Unsplash
Barclays Center concession workers reach tentative agreement, avoiding a strike
The tentative agreement with employers includes salary increases, more health insurance and tipping (and saves Drake fans from thirst)
A strike has been averted at Barclays Center, with concession workers reaching a tentative agreement that includes a $25 hourly minimum wage.
UNITE Here Local 100, the union representing bartenders, servers and cooks, said the agreement struck with their employer, Levy, expands worker health insurance, hikes wages between $5 and $11 an hour and allows employees to work for tips. The new contract goes until 2027.
“Levy saw that our members were serious about what they were fighting for. We got the things we needed at the bargaining table: real raises, a way for more of our members to get health insurance from Levy and a lot more,” said UNITE President José Maldonado.
The agreement ends a nearly yearlong fight between the two sides: Employees have been working without a contract since last August, and negotiations had been on and off for a while. They often picketed the arena, chanting that “one job should be enough.”
If an agreement wasn’t reached as of Monday, workers were going to strike and affect a number of events — including Drake’s four-night run.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso celebrated the agreement and congratulated the union for what he described as its best-ever contract.
As always, Brooklyn does it best: Levy and @UniteHere workers at Barclays came together at the bargaining table and walked away with the best contract in the union’s history.
Grateful to all those who worked hand in hand to set a new standard here in NYC and beyond. pic.twitter.com/2yXaCGq8pN
— Antonio Reynoso (@BKBPReynoso) July 18, 2023
The new contract will now be voted by the union, which is expected to approve it.
