The United Workers organizes the low-wage day laborers who clean Camden Yards. They joined anti-sweatshop Pittsburgh Pirates fans for protests at this week's All Star game. The fans are demanding that their home team take a stand and go to bat for sweatshop-free baseball gear, and invited the cleaners at Camden Yards to join the protests. Not only did the cleaners join the fight for sweatshop-free gear, but they also got to confront Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who made and then broke a promise to pay the cleaners a living wage at the stadium. Here are some photos from the confrontation.
Peter Angelos in Pittsburgh at the 2006 All Star Game walks to his hotel just outside of PNC Park. United Workers members were in Pittsburgh to support sweatshop-free baseball protests at the game and to let Angelos know that the cleaners at Camden Yards are still waiting for him to keep his word to pay a living wage. In this photo Angelos turns his back to the workers just after realizing that he was being confronted by Camden Yards cleaners.
Todd, the United Workers leadership organizer yells at Angelos - telling him to honor his word and pay cleaners a living wage. Angelos turns his back on Todd and workers present, while some of the other mega-millionaire "baseball fans" look on. With the All Star game now a millionaire-fest for the benefit of baseball's corporate-suite elite, these fans represent who was in Pittsburgh for the All Star game.
Security guards pushed the United Workers back as Angelos enters his hotel.
Erenst, who has worked at Camden Yards as a cleaner for years (even back when pay was $4 an hour before the cleaners got organized at the stadium) speaks to Angelos's hotel, demanding that Angelos come out and look the cleaners in the eye and answer why he broke his promise.
Nicee, another cleaner at Camden Yards, speaks her mind to Angelos as well.
After about a half-hour of being shouted at, Angelos takes a peak at the protesting cleaners outside his All Star hotel.
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