It's About Time The Bruins Make Some Kind Of Commitment To The TD Garden Employees
(Source) -- After the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild officially announced financial support plans for their game-day staff on Tuesday, it left the Bruins as the only NHL organization that has yet to do so.
Many teams in professional leagues — including 30 of the 31 NHL clubs — have rallied around part-time arena staff workers who have seen their hours slashed and/or positions eliminated. Their support has ranged from pledges to pay salaries in full, to funds toward employees’ living expenses.
The Bruins’ silence on the matter has been deafening for many who work at TD Garden.
“This experience has been hell for me personally,” said a server at the Legends restaurant at the Garden. “My biggest fear is always being homeless again.”
This isn't even a call for Jeremy Jacobs to do something extraordinary, it's just a recommendation he do what EVERY OTHER NHL TEAM HAS DONE and take care of their part time employees. And, according to Business Insider he's the 9th richest owner in the NHL at 4.1 billion, so it's not like he's waiting to see if he can afford it. Twenty two guys poorer than him found a way, I suspect he could too.
If it needs to be explained why it's smart for him, if human decency and employees saying they're going through hell and fearing they'll end up homeless doesn't do the trick, then I'll be happy to do so. You see, I remember a time when Jeremy Jacobs was a phrase that was prefaced by an expletive in Boston. I remember my dad and uncles telling me that the Boston Bruins would never win a Stanley Cup under him so stop even hoping for it. He was a cheapskate who wouldn't invest in players who could win, so why should fans invest in the team? But times changed, I don't know what caused the switch but the Bruins started regularly spending up to the cap, putting a good product on the ice, won a Stanley Cup, and TD Garden is sold out nightly. I wouldn't say Jacobs is a beloved owner, he's no Robert Kraft, but no one really talks about him much anymore and I'd argue that's exactly the spot you want to be as a billionaire at a time when people are taking to the streets and saying "Eat the rich." You certainly don't want your name to get popular again being the cheap guy, that's the worst thing you can say about someone even if they're poor.
Right now the crown for most loved Boston sports team is seemingly up for grabs (it's the new AFC East), two superstars have just left the Pats and Red Sox, earning the anger of their fan bases, while the Bruins and Celtics are two teams poised for sustained success. Taking care of your employees won't immediately make you the #1 squad, but not doing so will put you in the same camp as the other two franchises, with disappointed fans maybe looking for another place to spend their money (both the Celtics and Bruins play at TD Garden so it should probably be a collaborative effort between the two owners, as employees are losing double the work).
That's the business reason to take care of the staff, ya know, if "don't be a dick" doesn't quite cut it.