“Protest the Team First”: Angel Stadium Concession Workers Take Fight to the Concourse as Fans Echo in Union Action

Players fighting, debating on the field, and a flock of media houses eager to cover such controversies? Yes, we have seen it a plethora of times. However, it looks like the battle that happened on the field has teleported to the Angel Stadium concession workers.

At around 6:20 PM on Thursday, approximately 50 workers gathered in the stadium concourse, stating their demands in an asperous and rebellious manner. Looking angry, fumed up, and frustrated, the concession worker’s demand showcases a different side of the story about what happens behind closed doors. 

Angel Stadium Concession Worker’s Protest: The Real Reason 

The concession workers’ stance and demands are simple and straightforward. They are all protesting against the lack of tip transparency and seeking an answer from Legends Hospitality. Currently, the workers are employed by Legends Hospitality, which is Angel’s concession partner. At the protest, workers looked frightened and said that each of them was threatened to lose their job over the action. 

During their 30-minute break, workers took charge of the concourse floor to express their concerns to the higher authority. “They try to intimidate me, I’m not afraid,” said one worker. “I don’t care. I can get fired.” Subsequent chants of “Si se puede,” which translates to “Yes we can,” rang out, as well as “Union job.” Workers also chanted for immediate tip transparency.

Still, even after such a heated protest, Angels are in no mood to comment. Legends human resource representatives also seem to go on a DND mode along with the company’s spokesperson. 

At the stadium, workers dragged the Legends HR director Ronald Gottschalk into the picture. They wanted to seek answers regarding a thorough audit of the tips received at the ballpark.  The purpose of an HR director at the Legends is quite simple. Their work is to ensure that every single worker receives all the tips that are collected at the concession stands.

However, the money amount is due, and the workers are yet to receive their tip payments for their work at the Angel Stadium.  

“When are you guys going to start paying that money out?” said one concession employee. “I don’t know,” Gottschalk responded. “That’s not my — I don’t make that call.” Another employee told Gottschalk, “You guys have made changes without letting the membership know. That is not acceptable.”

The endless series of arguments made the organizer Miguel Bautista speak, “We were here for one principal issue, the tip audit. Ron, when will we have the tip audit?” 

Bautista even asked the management if they had shortened the audit window following the last three months to see if the higher authorities answered. I cannot tell you that, Gottschalk responded, “because it is not my decision to make. You’re asking for legal information from our company.”

Amidst the restless protest, Bautista constantly reminded the workers that their break would soon end. Ending the conversation, Gottschalk told Bautista that he was “not the bad guy” and the management would respond to the issue with an email. “I appreciate your understanding,” Bautista replied, “and I appreciate the urgency.”

Fans pour witty reaction on the Angel Stadium controversy

Fans were vocal on the issue, following massive outrage and the employees along with Legend’s management doing what they had to do. On X, fans wrote their personal opinions, adding to the woes of Legend’s hospitality. Commenting on the protest, one fan wrote,” This is fantastic, nothing but solidarity for them. hopefully more of arte’s exploited workers see this and decide to follow suit.” Clearly, the fan wants Angel’s other workers to walk on the same path in case, they are under scrutiny. 

Another fan wrote, “This is more entertaining than watching the Angels,” showcasing the boredom Angel’s gameplay means for the viewers. Knowing the damage done by Arte Moreno, a passionate fan said,” Arte is doing great with these Angels. He needs to go.” Supporting the workers to get their hard-earned money, a fan wrote,” YOU GOTTA PROTEST WHEN THE STADIUM IS EMPTY 90% of the Time!”

Ultimately, the worker’s protest has ended for the day. But, the Angel Stadium owner and Legend’s management still have tons of questions to answer. As the workers are left disgraced and controversy slowly catches media attention, Legend’s has less time to deal with the fuss and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.