Club Source: Orioles Paying Baseball Op-Employees Through At Least May 31; Third-Party Concessions Workers Not Getting Paid
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Baltimore Orioles will commit to paying baseball operations employees through at least May 31, a club source tells WJZ.
Earlier Tuesday, ten Baltimore City Council members called on the team to pay these workers for missed games during the coronavirus pandemic.
"These are hard times for all of us. The COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat not only to our health, but also to our economic well-being," Councilwoman Shannon Sneed said. "We all have to be in this together and this means checking on Baltimore City residents and even providing extended pay and other resources to the workers of many of our great businesses in Baltimore City. Once this is over, Baltimore will be stronger and better than we have ever predicted."
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The MLB postponed its season after concerns over the coronavirus continued to grow in March.
Last month, all 30 baseball teams pledged $1 million each to support their workers. That plan, though, doesn't include the hundreds of concessions workers who are not getting paid.
One of those workers, Kareem Boy, has been in love with Orioles fan for five-and-a-half seasons. Now, he and more than 700 of his coworkers are missing out on their paychecks.
"Whether the team is doing bad or great, we have to be there with a smile on our face," he said, "and that's what we do: we take pride in that and we thought they would take pride in us."
Instead, Delaware North, the company that runs concessions at Camden Yards, had made Boy feel like he's unappreciated, he said.
In a statement, Delaware North said:
"We understand the hardship this unprecedented situation has caused our dedicated part-time employees in Baltimore and around the country. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly clear that the impact of the crisis on the hospitality industry will be deeper and longer-lasting than anticipated. It has left nearly all of Delaware North's businesses temporarily closed and is causing significant financial losses. We have been forced to place more than two-thirds of our full-time employees on temporary leave, and thousands of part-time employees cannot be scheduled for work as a result of the shuttered operations.
"We greatly appreciate all of our employees and hope they remain healthy and safe as we look forward to resuming operations and welcoming them back at the appropriate time."
Boy said he now hopes the Orioles will step up to the plate to help him and his co-workers.
"Times are really hard right now and we just need them to help us out," he said.
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