Minnesota United's final regular-season home game was not carried on Apple TV's MLS Season Pass coverage Saturday after Allianz Field in-house production staff picketed outside and struck seeking their first collectively bargained contract.
Minnesota United home game not on Apple TV due to Allianz Field strike
Allianz Field in-house gameday staff picketed outside and struck seeking their first collectively bargained contract.
A livestream of the game was available on MLSsoccer.com and highlights and commentary were on MLS Season Pass' 360 studio commentary.
The game also was broadcast on the club's 1500 ESPN Radio.
About 30 union members set up a picket line several hours before the night's kickoff against LA Galaxy. Workers who run cameras, replays, music and more wrote on X — the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — on the account @MnufcUnion: "Today we strike. For seven months, we have bargained with MNUFC for our first contract. The team has repeatedly stalled and shown no interest in bargaining a fair deal. We feel we have not been taken seriously."
The Loons released a pregame statement that said, "A group of non-MNUFC employees who are responsible for key elements of broadcast production at Allianz Stadium have chosen not to work tonight's game. The decision by these individuals will impact several areas of live production capabilities. Therefore, our match against the LA Galaxy will not be broadcast on MLS Season Pass."
The statement apologized to our fans and viewers "for the inconvenience."
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.