Yesterday, Kyle Boenitz asked in this space for stories about the “little guys” the lockout is affecting. The more than 400 employees who NBA teams have let go as a temporary cost-cutting move. These include scouts, ticket sales representatives and general workers for the teams for sure. But there are still others who are going to be deeply affected by the lockout in ways that might be harder to figure.
These people are not NBA or team employees. These are people that depend on the constant schedule of games to supplement and (sometimes) provide their income. These are arena workers — ushers, concessionaires and probably a host of others you do not even think about when you go to an NBA game but still make the game much more enjoyable.
These employees are not represented well at the bargaining table and have no say over something that will gravely affect their future.
I imagine this story from a Rose Garden usher (h/t to Blazersedge) is common throughout the league:
“The majority of the money I do make is a direct result of working Blazer, er, NBA sanctioned games. 56.49% of all earnings for me last year were basketball related income, which speaks to how much I (along with my fellow co-workers) depend on the NBA to have games play as scheduled. The main reason I decided to apply at the Rose Garden was because of the chance to work Blazer games.
“The NBA, in my eyes, is job security to those working at the Rose Garden. Without that guarantee of being able to work those game shifts, I would be (and currently am) at the mercy of being scheduled (in competition with a few hundred other ushers) for the leftover events. No NBA games equals an inconsistent amount of shifts, which leads to inconsistent pay, which leads to increased difficulty in making ends meet.”
You can see from this short anecdote how critical the NBA is to a lot of people. There is not just an emotional connection to the city, but a clear need to supplement income. And that goes double in the down economy. For this usher, at least, 57 percent of his income is basketball related (or Rose Garden-related, if you will). This is a person who clearly has a deep connection to his team, to fan relations and to his job.
And it is a job that he and many others clearly need.
Obviously this is a difficult time for them. It is a difficult time for everybody in the job market, it seems. And the owners and players have to think about themselves and their sport during bargaining.
But as they argue over basketball-related income, maybe they should remember about this other 57 percent.
Photo via DayLife.com.
