Dodger Stadium tour guides failed to unionize but

Win-win could be overstating the result. But when the Dodgers emailed their roughly 55 tour guides Wednesday to say they had been getting the pay raise they sought during a failed attempt to unionize, there must have been more smiles than frowns.

The Dodgers and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees reached an settlement in October, but ratification of the pact by the union failed by one vote. A second vote also narrowly failed. Then in January the tour guides voted to decertify the union, which means the pay raise and elevated stadium security on non-game days IATSE and the Dodgers had agreed upon had been off the desk.

Not for long. The Dodgers bumped up the guides’ pay from $17.87 to $24 an hour — the same increase they might have gotten under the scrapped union contract.

That’s hardly Kyle Tucker money: The Dodgers’ new proper fielder signed a contract for $240 million over 4 years, an average annual worth of $60 million. The Dodgers can pay the tour guides a grand whole of about $650,000 in 2026 — $170,000 of that reflecting the raise of about $3,000 per particular person. Tucker will make 92 occasions the whole tour information payroll yearly.

Dodger Stadium tours have turn out to be more and more in style — producing more than $1 million a 12 months in income — because of current stadium renovations, two consecutive World Series championships and the signings of Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.

“The tour program has grown so much in the age of Ohtani,” said Ray Lokar, a veteran Dodgers tour information whose full-time profession was as a high college coach and athletic director for almost 40 years. “The visibility and security responsibilities have been amplified. It’s grown from a mom‐and‐pop operation of a dozen people showing folks around the stadium to a multimillion-dollar asset.”

Tours now happen every day besides Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The burgeoning demand has induced breaches in stadium security, with guides flagging cases of tour members getting into the top deck with backpacks and even rolling suitcases going unchecked.

The union settlement included a promise by the Dodgers to beef up security. Some guides frightened that the decertification would imply the staff may continue to ignore their security considerations. However, the letter to tour guides saying the raise also addressed stadium security without offering specifics.

“I want you to know that we hear you, team, and we see you,” wrote Kayla Rodiger, Dodgers senior supervisor of tours. “Your concerns are valid, and I’ll be working closely with our front office colleagues to ensure we make a sincere and meaningful effort to address them.

“That being said, we are actively discussing security issues around the stadium, and I hope to have an update for you on your Top Deck concerns soon.”

Nicole Miller, president of IATSE Local B-192, led the union negotiations that fell short of a contract but seemingly nudged the Dodgers into addressing the pay and security points on their own.

“Make no mistake, our IATSE Local B-192 bargaining team’s efforts were crucial in the tour guides obtaining a significant wage increase, and we hope they follow up on their promise to increase security,” Miller said.

The letter from Rodiger also said that the Dodgers’ longtime follow of offering tour guides comp tickets would continue. The perk of 4 reserve-level tickets for each of the 13 homestands in a season is price $2,600 assuming the tickets are valued at $50 each. Miller said that in 2024 only three tour guides took all 52 tickets; on average, each information took 32.

The Dodgers refused to point out free tickets in the union settlement because they said other part-time union staff would demand the same perk. Still, the uncertainty surrounding the tickets stored a number of guides from voting for union illustration.

The contentious negotiations and close to 50-50 break up among the membership prompted veteran tour information Cary Ginell to retire, sending a letter Jan. 23 to a number of of the Dodgers’ top executives.

“I’m writing to let you know that the tour program has become a dysfunctional battle between pro and anti-union factions with resentment and animosity on both sides,” wrote Ginell, a Grammy-nominated writer of more than a dozen books on American music. “As an executive, you should be concerned about this, because it reflects on the entire Dodger organization.

“Above all, I wanted what was best for the tour guides, especially the younger ones who struggle to earn a living by working multiple jobs, but come to work afraid of who will be reporting on them and what threats might occur due to the absence of building security.”

Less than two weeks later, the Dodgers responded.

“Over the past two years, our department has thrived, earning recognition across the Dodgers organization, the league, and the City of Los Angeles,” Rodiger wrote to the tour guides. “Your ability to stay focused and uphold our standards to continue to give World Champion level tours has not gone unnoticed, and I promise you all that your contributions to this organization are not taken for granted.”