Oakland Arena concession workers hold a rally to demand higher wages

Concession workers from the UNITE HERE Local 2 Union gathered outside the Oakland Arena Saturday night before a shift at an Usher concert, demanding better wages and health care.

Workers like Robert Preston have worked for the Levy restaurant and hotel company for decades and have seen the demise of the Oakland Raiders, the Golden State Warriors and most recently the Oakland A's.

The baseball and basketball seasons gave workers more job security and they earned more at the Coliseum.

Now the concession workers only have to make a living from concerts and events.

Their last negotiated contract was during the coronavirus crisis and after the Warriors' departure, when they accepted lower wages in the hope of simply being able to go back to work.

However, since the arena welcomed thousands of ticket holders back through the gates, workers have not seen a raise.

“Well, when we started, they got amnesia over the fact that we still started at 19 percent less than fast-food workers,” Preston said.

Union workers are demanding a raise from $18 to $23 an hour to match what concession workers would earn during baseball games at the Coliseum.

Negotiations to extend the contract will take place next week.

“Our contract ended in December last year so we are out of contract and they came to the table with an insulting sum,” Preston added.

As the venue books more events since the departure of the Golden State Warriors, staff are demanding that guests be taken care of.

“We're fighting inflation, we're fighting gas, we're fighting electricity while PG&E keeps rising, so we don't just want money. “It’s the fact that everything is going up, but our wages aren’t going up with the times,” Preston said.

KPIX reached out to Levy's communications department and received no response.