Deadspin: Camden Yards Workers Screwed Over Yet Again

Dave McKenna, Deadspin:

The other day, the Baltimore Orioles got lots of positive press by announcing that stadium staffers would be compensated for wages lost while a state of emergency was declared in the city. Two home games were canceled, another was played at an empty Camden Yards, and three others were moved to Tampa Bay as anger over the killing of Freddie Gray reigned.

"Due to the extraordinary circumstances that led to several canceled or rescheduled games," read Tuesday's memo from management, "the Orioles organization will compensate all hourly employees for hours that would have been ordinarily worked the week of April 27." ...

However, the O's graciousness doesn't actually cover all hourly stadium workers. Not even close. ...

As it turns out, only stadium workers directly on the team's payroll will get make-up money. That group includes ushers, ticket sellers, and security screeners. Orioles spokesperson Kristen Hudak declined to provide any stats related to the number of employees that fall in this category, but it's a fraction of the labor force that was put out by the tumult that consumed Baltimore. All food, booze and merchandise vendors, for example, are technically employed by a contractor, Delaware North, and are therefore not eligible for the recompense offered by the O's for the disappeared games.

The cleaning crew was also spared the team's generosity. The janitorial workers are officially employed by Chimes Inc., a Baltimore-based non-profit that describes itself as a place that "provides training and employment opportunities for people with severe disabilities." ...

[Peter] Angelos had a sturdy pro-labor reputation when he took over as owner in 1993. ...

But his treatment of the stadium cleanup crews a decade ago put that image to shame. Angelos was using mostly homeless men to do the work at the time. Some were paid hourly, some were paid a flat $30 fee no matter how long the job took. ... In 2005, one of the homeless workers, James Riddick, told me supervisors routinely docked two hours pay from any hourly member of the cleanup crew caught taking a bathroom break. ...