Garden won’t promise to pay arena workers
With the coronavirus crisis creating pervasive anxiety in the workforce, Madison Square Garden still hasn’t committed to pay concession workers for the remainder of the shutdown, the Daily News has learned.
The union had been negotiating with MSG as recently as Friday but MSG has only pledged to continue making healthcare contributions to workers who are eligible for the company’s plan, a source said.
MSG has also vowed to pay workers until March 29, and only certain workers until April 5.
After that, there’s no commitment from MSG for at least the concessions and cleaning staff, according to multiple sources.
The Knicks’ final home game was scheduled for April 14 and the Rangers’ was April 4, although they had a chance of making the NHL playoffs.
By contrast, the Nets and Barclays Center — both owned by Joe Tsai — have already agreed to pay all the hourly employees their regular paychecks through the end of May.
“It’s very frustrating, a lot of folks are scared about how they are going to pay their bills, how they’re going to pay their families,” Gerard Cerda, a food vendor at MSG for 26 years, told the News. “People are very, very concerned.”
The Madison Square Garden Company owns multiple venues – the Hulu Theatre, The Forum, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theatre, the Chicago Theatre – which theoretically makes it harder to make a longterm commitment like the Barclays Center. MSG is also working toward setting up a fund for the workers, according to a source.
The Knicks are the NBA’s most valuable team with an estimated worth of $4.6 billion, according to Forbes.
The Garden’s wait-and-see approach with future salaries is adding to the unease.
Committing for the rest of the shutdown “would put people at peace, and let people know they have some sort’ve income coming in,” Cerda said.
The NBA and NHL are suspended indefinitely and the CDC has advised that events attracting over 50 people be postponed for at least eight weeks. It could last much longer. MSG also hosts the Rangers, concerts and other live events.
Several NBA teams have pledged longterm compensation for the arena workers, including the Mavericks, Hawks, Bulls, Hornets, Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Lakers, Clippers and Sixers. Other owners have contributed to funds to assist employees. Some players — such as Rudy Gobert and Zion Williamson — have donated substantial money to pay arena employees for lost work.
However, there are gray areas. The Utah Jazz, for instance, said it was “committed to an employee assistance effort” but didn’t pay part-time employees for events that were scheduled (and postponed) in March.
The Jazz, like the Knicks, have talked about a long-term plan but have yet to implement it.
“It really is a family at Madison Square Garden,” Cerda said. “So hopefully everybody in the family sticks with each other.”