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It’s like Lenin used to say: there are decades where nothing happens, and then there are weeks where for some reason a whole bunch of stories I can cover in this space happen one after the other. Let’s get to a couple of those today and hit the rest next time around.
The Dodgers say no to ICE
The Dodgers have not exactly handled the attempts by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to round up immigrants (or anyone they feel like) in Los Angeles well. It’s not that anyone is expecting manager Dave Roberts to run out onto the streets and start setting Waymos on fire or anything, but for someone who has spoken so publicly about the importance of being vocal about his Asian-American heritage as well as the legacy of Jackie Robinson, having him pull a “well I’m just not aware enough to speak on it” when questioned about ICE’s activities in LA was… less than you’d hope for. At least he didn’t personally deny entry to a fan for wearing a sarape, though, or ban Nezza from singing the national anthem at the park from here on out because she dared to do so in Spanish rather than English. (That version of the anthem, by the way, was commissioned by president Franklin D. Roosevelt all the way back in 1945 — it’s official and authorized by the country itself!)
Thursday marked a change in how the team was going to conduct themselves, however. They announced in a statement to social media that they’d denied entry to ICE officers seeking access to the stadium’s parking lots — while the agency denied they were ever there to begin with, there were photos and videos that matched vehicles to ones that had conducted ICE business elsewhere in the city, and honesty isn’t exactly a thing you can hope for out of these agencies, anyway. More likely is that they were embarrassed by being stopped by a parking lot attendant with the full backing of the team, whose private property they were on, and were forced to retreat… with a little help from an LAPD escort, too, since protestors had come to their location in between their arrival and decision to leave.
This action delayed what the Dodgers had intended to do on Thursday, which was to announce plans to help immigrants impacted by ICE. While details of said plan are unknown at this time and first reported by The Athletic, president Stan Kasten has acknowledged that the reports of a plan existing, and its imminent announcement, were true.
This doesn’t erase their previous actions entirely, and until whatever the plan is actually comes out and can be looked at, you don’t want to give too much preemptive credit. However, telling ICE to get off their property rather than giving in to them, and having any plan at all for helping immigrants out, is a massive step ahead of where they were a week ago. It’s a start — let’s see where that start leads to.
Fenway workers authorize strike
Stadium workers at Fenway Park, concessions and otherwise and all under the UNITE HERE banner, have authorized a strike. They haven’t actually called for a strike yet, but they can now do so whenever with approval of 95 percent of the union’s membership. Per the Boston Herald:
“Boston is a union town, and it’s time to bring all Fenway workers’ wages up to standard,” said Carlos Aramayo, president of UNITE HERE Local 26. “Local 26 hotel workers fought for and won $10 an hour raises last year, and Local 26 university dining workers will be making a minimum of $30 an hour by 2028. There’s no reason for Fenway workers to be left behind. They deserve raises and respect!”
Fenway’s unionized workers have been working without a contract since the start of 2025, as their previous deal expired on December 31. A statement released by the union included more details, such as that “A cashier earns $18.52 an hour at Fenway and $21.25 an hour at the Marlins Park in Miami. Meanwhile, a beer costs $10.79 at Fenway and $5.14 at the Marlins Park.” Per UNITE, Fenway generated $571 million in revenue in 2024, while standing as the most-expensive stadium to attend a game at. Remember, too, that Fenway is open for far more than just baseball games these days, so these workers have more to do than “just” 81 baseball games per year, and MGM Music Hall, a 5,000-capacity venue opened in 2022, is part of the Fenway group now that employs these same workers, as well.
Now, it’s not that there’s $571 million in revenue to be split among the workers, and no one is suggesting as much. However, Aramark signs a contract with the Red Sox to provide concessions, and a place like Fenway is a lucrative one to work out of. They’re making more than they might somewhere else, because of the nature of Fenway and its prices and its attendance levels, and the workers should, too.
The Red Sox aren’t directly involved, but the pressure point here is that, were Local 26 to go on strike, they’d be hosting games without concessions and so on. They’ll surely be in Aramark’s ear to get this thing done to avoid interruptions, which is the point of these strike authorizations in the first place.
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As for next time, a look at what’s going on with the potential Rays’ sale and what that might mean for their quest for public stadium subsidies, and Rob Manfred’s plan for convincing the players that a salary cap is good, actually.
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