UBS Arena food workers protest for better pay, contract talks resume

Food-service workers at UBS Arena took their pay fight into public view on April 16, warning that the arena’s concessions and kitchen operation could suffer if Delaware North did not move on wages. Cooks, dishwashers and other hospitality staff represented by UNITE HERE Local 100 protested outside the Elmont venue as their contract remained unresolved since October 2025, with the two sides last meeting at the bargaining table in February.

The workers’ complaint was straightforward and familiar to anyone who has spent a rush trying to keep a line moving with too few hands: the pay did not match the pace. A union briefing said workers were demanding a bigger raise than the proposed 0.75-cent wage increase, a figure that only sharpened the sense among employees that the company was not treating the job like the high-volume, high-pressure work it is. Arana, who previously worked at Madison Square Garden, said that “the majority of us are making under $25,” even though the workload can be heavier than similar arena jobs elsewhere.

The protest also highlighted the broader economics of venue food service in the New York area. UNITE HERE Local 100 represents hospitality workers in cafeterias, restaurants, bars, delis, airports, sports and exhibition halls, and performing arts centers across New York City, Westchester, Long Island and New Jersey. The union is affiliated with UNITE HERE International, which says it has more than 250,000 members in the United States and Canada, giving the UBS Arena dispute a reach well beyond one building in Elmont.

Delaware North said it bargained in good faith and had reached a tentative five-year agreement that would improve pay, benefits and other working conditions. But the gap between that claim and what workers described on the ground is the issue now facing the arena. Delaware North describes itself as a global hospitality and food-service management company, and its careers site lists UBS Arena jobs in Elmont, a reminder that this is not just a labor fight on paper, but an ongoing staffing question inside a live event business.

That operational risk matters at UBS Arena, which opened for the 2021-2022 NHL season and cost about $1.1 billion to build. When a building that size is full, a shortage of experienced cooks, dishwashers and concession workers can mean slower service, longer lines and more strain on the crews left to absorb the rush. For arena employers, the message from Elmont was simple: if wages lag too far behind the work, service starts to fray.