Deer District Union Wins Big Wage Increases
Hospitality and security workers in Deer District businesses represented by MASH secure new contract.
Deer District Plaza. Photo taken April 14, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.
The union representing workers in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ Deer District secured large wage increases in the latest round of contract negotiations.
The workers are part of the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Union (MASH), which won pay increases across the bargaining unit that will ensure nearly every hour worked by union labor is paid $20 by the end of the contract, according to MASH.
The new contract included “major victories” for workers and did not require any concessions from MASH, according to Peter Rickman, MASH president and business manager.
“Worker-centered, member-driven, democratic trade unionism made these victories for Deer District employees, which will continue transforming their jobs for the better and setting the standard for service-sector work in Milwaukee and beyond,” Rickman said in a statement.
The new contract between the union and the Bucks organization was ratified Monday. The union represents about 450 full-time and part-time workers in guest services, security, ticketing and operations. New workers will see at least a 5.6% pay raise.
The contract also ensures wages keep pace with inflation and boosts some workers’ pay by approximately 10% to 21% after their first year, according to MASH. Security guards who have worked at the district since the Fiserv Forum opened are seeking an 8.8% pay increase, and full-time guards will make $22 to $24 an hour. The union also secured greater flexibility in scheduling and assignments, according to MASH.
“We’ve built a strong union and that’s meant we’ve been able to win in every contract the improvements that have made this a good job where workers are valued. This is our best contract ever and I’m proud of my co-workers and my union for sticking together and delivering the contract we deserve,” said Kenneth Green, MASH vice president and a security guard for the Bucks since the team played at the Bradley Center.
The union at the Deer District organized in 2019, but it grew out of a community benefits agreement negotiated between Rickman and the Bucks in 2016 and pushed by Wisconsin Democratic legislators, whereby the Bucks agreed to recognize a workers union if they organized one. At the time, the Bucks were seeking significant public support for the new arena project that would become the Fiserv Forum.
Along with the 450 Deer District employees, MASH represents 550 food and beverage workers at the Fiserv Forum who are employed by Levy Restaurants. In total, MASH represents more than 1,200 workers in service and hospitality jobs across companies in Milwaukee, including Anodyne Coffee, Fairgrounds Coffee and Tea, the Pabst Theater Group, and Landmark Credit Union Live concert hall.
In 2016, while negotiating the community benefits agreement, the Bucks organization secured an exception for future hotel workers in the Deer District being planned. In 2025, workers at The Trade hotel attempted to organize with MASH but lost a union election following strong pushback from the owner, NCG Hospitality.
MASH is currently negotiating a contract with the private equity-backed owners of Anodyne Coffee, a company called FairWave Holdings LLC. In July, workers went on strike, protesting stalled negotiations and alleged labor law violations.
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