Target Field workers ready to strike in push for $20 minimum wage

Devante Boyd is a food runner and member of Local 17’s bargaining team.

Concessions and other hospitality workers at Target Field have voted to authorize their bargaining team to call a strike, a decision could come as early as this week, the union warned today, after the employer brought “union-busting proposals” to negotiations.

The workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 17, announced results of the vote May 4. Of members who participated, 81% voted to authorize the strike.

Local 17 represents about 500 workers at the Twins’ stadium who are employed by Delaware North Company. That’s nearly double the size of units that bargained previous contracts, as Local 17 succeeded last fall in organizing 200 new members who work in the facility’s premium restaurants.

With the stadium unionized “wall to wall,” Local 17 members are looking to make significant gains in their new contract. Their top demand is a $20 minimum wage this year, paired with significant annual raises in the future.

Devante Boyd, who runs food from concession stations to seats at Target Field, said he earns about $16 per hour now. He voted to strike to “prevent Delaware North from taking advantage of me and let them know that I am willing to advocate for my value.”

Workers also want job security, citing the stadium’s increased reliance on nonprofit volunteers to staff its concession stands. “We’re trying to keep people working and prevent those nonprofits from eroding more into our union spaces,” Local 17 organizer Theo Bilski said.

Members are fighting for a path to health care, too, with proposals that would create a partnership with other arenas in the Twin Cities to pool worker benefits.

Local 17’s previous contract with Delaware North expired in January, but it remains in place as negotiations continue.

Boyd, who serves on the bargaining team, said workers don’t want to strike, but they will if the employer fails to take them seriously at the table.

“We all have one thing in common, and that’s that if not for us, then Delaware North does not succeed,” Boyd said. “We’re making sure that the customers have a great experience.

“I like my job. I don’t want to have to leave because I can’t afford to work here.”

– Michael Moore, Union Advocate editor