If you went down to the stadiums for the Phillies game on Monday or Tuesday, you saw groups of Aramark employees protesting outside. 1,500 employees are currently on strike, similar to the demonstrations you may have seen outside Wells Fargo Center back in March. These employees work in food, drink, and retail at all three South Philly stadiums, making sure you can get your overly-expensive hot dogs and fries while you watch a game.

So what’s all the racket for?

A major issue they have is that the work for each individual stadium counts as separate jobs, so the hours from each venue are counted separately and usually leave them ineligible for benefits. Essentially, some employees are working 40+ hours a week but not treated as full timers because of this technicality. 

“I’m fighting for better wages, medical, dental,” said one employee, who asked to remain anonymous. She works 40+ hour weeks and does not receive any benefits. “I feel like it’s really messed up because I work all three stadiums.”

Another issue is the varying pay across stadiums. You may make a certain wage at Wells Fargo Center, but at the Linc it could be different, and same with Citizens Bank Park. The union wants Aramark to set a single standard for wages and benefits. Is there really a difference between selling beer at the Linc vs Citizens Bank? I doubt it. So why should the workers get different pay? What’s even wilder: Aramark offered a 50 cent per hour raise earlier in the summer, according to the union. 50 cents?!  Aramark posted record profits in 2023, over $670 million, and the best they could do is 50 cents?! Needless to say, that proposal was rejected by the union.


A spokesperson for Aramark told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the latest contract offer agreed to count hours worked across the three stadiums. It doesn’t seem clear if they agreed to a single standard wage across stadiums, however. This offer was rejected by the union. 

“In the five-week period since the union rejected our offer, they have chosen to strike without making any substantive changes to their position. They continue to engage in non-productive tactics, choosing to strike again and continuing to seek a boycott of Aramark’s services,” the spokesperson said.

While the strike is going on, Aramark has a contingency plan in place and it seems like there will still be food offered at the stadiums. The union is encouraging fans to “support striking workers by not patronizing Aramark and choosing to tailgate or grab dinner elsewhere ahead of the game instead.” How long this strike will last is not clear. In the meantime, the inflatable cat and rat are out in front of the stadiums, and workers are marching around the stadium in protest.