LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Still waiting on help. Some T-Mobile Arena workers were excited to hear the Vegas Golden Knights promise that the team would help them during the pandemic, but that excitement has been replaced by frustration.
The news of the Golden Knight’s generosity in March generated goodwill for the T-Mobile Arena employees not working during the covid-19 pandemic.
“We felt like we were a part of them, so when they said yes, we are going to help you, no matter what that help would be, that they we’re going to be there,” Jaki Papajack, a food service worker, said.
A half million-dollar pledge meant to help employees make up for lost or rescheduled regular season games. Instead nearly two months later, a worker says she still hasn’t seen the help yet.
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“They said something, and people are trying to hold them to their word, and you’re only as good as your word and we want to believe in that,” she said.
Papajack has worked at T-Mobile Arena since the team began playing. She hasn’t heard any follow-up on the pledge. Papajack says she and co-workers are frustrated on the lack of clarity, and feel they aren’t getting recognition of their role for the team.
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“Since then, have you heard anything about us? I feel like we’ve been forgotten,” she said.
In a statement, the Golden Knights organization says:
“Since our initial pledge in March to support arena hourly on-call workers and part time Golden Knights staff with a minimum of $500,000, we have been actively working with all the entities involved to ensure that individuals are accounted for. As noted from the outset of our commitment, the situation is complex with the number of parties, employees and third-party vendors involved and the fact that the majority of the workers are not Golden Knights employees. We have also been awaiting clarity from the NHL on the status of the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season. We appreciate everyone’s continued patience throughout this process and understand employees are eager to receive more details. We will share all information regarding distribution when appropriate. We are very grateful for the generosity of Bill Foley, Marc-Andre Fleury, the VGK players and the VGK Foundation.”
Papajack says she and her co-workers love the team, and knows they’ve given back to the community in the midst of the pandemic.
“It’s not like they’re not doing anything. They’re helping the frontline workers. They’re feeding people,” she said.
But she simply wants to make sure the team keeps their word on helping them.
“I don’t want my co-workers to be forgotten about at the end of the day. That’s all,” Papajack said.
