Portland Baseball Backers Pledge to Use Union Workers at a Possible Stadium

In a press conference today, the Portland Diamond Project signed a labor peace agreement that will allow workers at a potential stadium to be union workers.

Portland baseball stadium rendering. (Portland Diamond Project)
By Rachel Monahan

The group working to bring Major League Baseball to Portland announced today it would agree to have a unionized workforce at their possible future stadium.

The move, announced by the Portland Diamond Project formally at a press conference Monday, may be helpful in attracting political support for the project.

"By signing this agreement, the Portland Diamond Project has shown us they value and respect the rights of working people and care for the prosperity of the community," said Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain in a statement.

It would be the only stadium in Oregon staffed by unionized workers, Chamberlain said at the press conference.

Workers for "concessions, program and retail sales, property service and security, hospitality service, stage and theatrical presentations, and entertainment and audio/visual services" are covered by the agreement, according to the press release.

Construction jobs are not yet part of an agreement.

The political significance was underscored by the presence of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, and Metro Council President Lynn Peterson at the press conference.

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