We can’t allow the NBA to just drop their arena workers!

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

Demand that all NBA team owners pay laid off arena workers for the
duration of the NBA’s hiatus!

[ [link removed] ]Take Action

 
John,

The NBA made the hard decision to cancel the current basketball season to
protect its players, employees, and fans from the Coronavirus after a Utah
Jazz player tested positive for the virus. While this shocked and upset
many people, it took jobs away from tens of thousands of arena workers
whose incomes are dependent on the NBA games being played. With many
cities around the country locking down entire sectors of the economy,
these people have no other option to turn to for income.

Black workers disproportionately make up the low-wage hourly workforce
which includes the vast majority of game-day employees.^1 40% of hourly
workers lack any savings and over 75% of them have less than $500 saved
for emergencies. The coming days and weeks are likely to wipe out these
savings and force employees to take on toxic debt or make difficult
choices around food and medical care.^2 And because of the systemic lack
of healthcare and economic infrastructure in many Black communities, Black
people are at particular risk for the extensive harm this pandemic will
cause. We can’t allow the NBA to just drop these workers, with no income
in the midst of a global pandemic.

[ [link removed] ]Demand that all the NBA team owners pay laid off arena workers for the
duration of the NBA’s hiatus!

19-year old NBA player Zion Williamson stood up for arena workers,
donating his own money to support them, along with Kevin Love, Blake
Griffin, Rudy Gobert, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.^3 These players have
shown remarkable generosity by donating to support the low-income arena
workers - but it’s not their responsibility to pay the wages of other
employees. NBA players, while well-paid, are still employees of the NBA.
Their generosity is remarkable. It speaks volumes about their character
and the spirit of giving back that we honor in our community, but they
shouldn’t have to pay the NBA’s bills.

NBA team owners are some of the wealthiest individuals in the country.
Their wealth was built off of investments from taxpayers (like you and I)
whose income taxes were used to build their arenas. We’re talking about
hundreds of millions of dollars in some cases! The taxes of working-class
people have funded the NBA’s explosive growth - it’s time for the NBA to
own up to its responsibilities to the people and communities that make
their game-day experience so profitable.^4

The NBA is a multi-billion-dollar league that has the funds to cover the
wages of impacted employees. The responsibility to provide income should
be on the league, not its players. So we are calling on all NBA team
owners to work with the various companies who manage stadium concessions
to ensure those employees are also paid for the duration of the NBA’s
hiatus.

[ [link removed] ]Demand that all NBA team owners commit to paying all arena workers for
the duration of the NBA's hiatus!

Until justice is real,

Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Johnny, Jade, Evan, Amanda, Eesha, Samantha,
Marcus, FolaSade, Jennette, Cierra and the rest of the Color Of Change
team

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References:
1. “Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2017,” US Bureau of Labor
Statistics, March
2018, [ [link removed] ][link removed]
 2. “Hourly employees face greater hurdles to save—nearly half have no
emergency funds,” CNBC, June 12, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 3. “N.B.A. Stars and Owners Say They’ll Cover Workers’ Lost Wages,” The
New York Times, March 13, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 4. “Your Tax Dollars At Play: How Stadium Tax Scams Pick Fans' Pockets,”
Forbes, April 17,
2018, [ [link removed] ][link removed]



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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. [ [link removed] ]Help
keep our movement strong.

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