Washington, DC – Today at Nationals’ Park, the fastest-growing union in the country honored Nationals’ ace pitcher Sean Doolittle with an honorary membership in recognition of his longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice.

UNITE HERE lauded Doolittle’s respect of and support for the union workers who serve the food in many MLB stadiums, including the Nationals’ stadium in DC.

“It is a great honor for our union to recognize the remarkable accomplishments on and off the field of Washington Nationals’ pitcher Sean Doolittle, a great American who uses his public reputation to shine a light for racial justice and economic equality,” said D. Taylor, international president of UNITE HERE.

Joining the ceremony were rank-and-file UNITE HERE workers from two different DC-area locals, including the unionized UNITE HERE members who serve the concessions food inside the Nationals’ stadium.

“Sean is a fighter for making sure baseball reflects the best values of America, including fighting for the often-overlooked workers who serve our fans at stadiums all across the nation every single season,” added Taylor. “Our entire union of over 270,000 workers, largely made up of women and people of color, are excited to welcome Sean as an honorary member of UNITE HERE. They know that Sean has been an outspoken advocate for our UNITE HERE food service workers as well as the thousands of other workers in other industries whose often-unrecognized labor make MLB games fantastic experiences.”

Sean Doolittle is the celebrated pitcher of the Washington Nationals, with career highlights including being selected as an MLB All-Star in 2014 and a long career with the Oakland A’s before joining the Nationals in 2017, and has been widely recognized for his advocacy work on behalf of a number of causes, including racial justice, homelessness, veterans’ issues, and labor unions. Doolittle is an active member in his own union, the Major League Baseball Players Association.

UNITE HERE is deeply committed to racial justice for all workers, and represents tens of thousands of food service concessions workers in professional sports stadiums across North America.

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