Sunday was the first outdoor, cold weather site Super Bowl in the game’s 48-year history. The frigid weather in the weeks leading up to the game didn't stop the thousands of union members who brought you the game. On the scene at MetLife Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands or behind the scenes at many facilities in the Metro New York-New Jersey area, union members made the nation’s national party day possible.
Here's Sunday's starting union lineup.
Of course, on the field, the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos players are members of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), and the men in the striped shirts are members of the NFL Referees Association.
The announcers, camera operators, technicians, field workers and other hardworking folks bringing the game to your flat-screened football cave or favorite Broncos or Seahawks bar include members of SAG-AFTRA, Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA (NABET-CWA), Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Laborers (LIUNA).
The annual over-the-top halftime show is a down-to-the-second, choreographed, on-the-field, off-the-field 12-minute extravaganza made possible by the skills of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) and other performing artists. Anyone who takes in a show in the city likely will enjoy the talents of Actors' Equity (AEA).
For the fans who head for the concessions, their hot dogs will be served and their beer will be drawn by men and women from UNITE HERE Local 100.
Away from the stadium, union members made an impact, too. Folks that took the area’s huge mass transit system were safely delivered to their destinations by members of the Transport Workers (TWU), Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and United Transportation Union (UTU). The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 194 also made sure the New Jersey Turnpike was running smoothly.
A large number of the area’s hotels are staffed by members of unions of the New York Hotel Trades Council. Many of the firefighters, emergency medical personnel and other public service workers who are ensuring a safe and efficient Super Bowl week are members of the Fire Fighters (IAFF) and AFSCME.
The first class work of members of the Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) Local 90 in Springfield, Ill., is on display on Broadway as part of Super Bowl Weekend. The IUPAT members at Ace Sign Co. crafted the 9-foot-tall, 38-feet wide aluminum and acrylic XLVIII (48) that spans one end of the legendary avenue, renamed Super Bowl Boulevard for the festivities. Click here to read more.
Of course, the fans who flew in for the big game got there safely, thanks to aviation workers from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), Air Line Pilots (ALPA), Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), Transport Workers (TWU) and Machinists (IAM).
Finally, check out how one Seahawk fan and Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 191 member has transformed himself into to the large, green and angry SeaHulk—far more frightening than the Seattle secondary. Our friend David Groves at the Washington State Labor Council’s The Stand has the story of how the local, area contractors and others came together and raised the funds to make sure the SeaHulk (aka Tim Froemke) and his crew of body painters made it to the Super Bowl. Groves also points out that the Seahawks players are affiliates of the WSCL.
