Vendor Returning to the Rotation

A peanut dispute that prompted an outcry by baseball nuts at Dodger Stadium is over.

Officials said Tuesday that veteran goober vendor Richard Aller--whose shrill cry of “Nuts! Nuts! Nuts!” has echoed through the stadium since the day it opened--will return to work Aug. 11.

Beloved by fans for his wisecracking, sarcastic style, Aller was fired in late April for misappropriation of peanuts. He had purchased two bags from fellow vendors who had gotten them for free as part of their stadium lunch allotment, and was planning to sell them for a $1-a-bag profit.

Aller’s firing was protested by fans, who contended that he is as much a part of the ballpark’s atmosphere as any ballplayer. They flooded the stadium with calls and letters of protest supporting the veteran of 38 seasons.

“His hollering and his humor makes even a bad game good,” said fan Jo Stephen, a secretary who lives in San Dimas.

“People get season tickets just to be in his section,” said Myron Rosenaur, an Encino lighting contractor.

Administrators of Aramark Corp., who are in charge of food services at the stadium, negotiated Aller’s return with leaders of Aller’s union, Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union.

The two vendors who sold their meal allotment peanuts to Aller have also been reinstated.

“Local 11 and the management at Aramark have agreed to reinstate the three vendors involved in the violation of Aramark’s rules regarding the use of employee meal tickets, following the suspension of several months,” union spokeswoman Carla Chavez said in a prepared statement.

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“Although all parties involved do not and will not condone this or any other violation of Aramark’s policies or work rules, we feel that suspension and reinstatement are in the best interest of all involved.”

Chavez said the unidentified vendors who sold Aller their peanuts have worked at Dodger Stadium for three years. “They want to slip quietly back to work. They’re embarrassed by this whole thing,” she said.

Aramark administrator Lon Rosenberg confirmed the settlement.

His company gives vendors up to $7.25 worth of food at each game as a lunch allotment. Company regulations prohibit workers from selling uneaten items.

Aller’s firing came as a jolt to other vendors. Fifty of them signed a petition asking for his reinstatement. “Fans have been asking: Where’s Richard?” noted their petition.

Some vendors acknowledged that the selling of personal meal allotment food items was commonplace at the stadium. But they predicted that Aller’s ouster would change that.

Bob Graziano, executive vice president of the Dodgers, said Tuesday he was pleased with the outcome.

“Aramark and the union went through a process and I think it was a good learning process for both sides and a good solution,” Graziano said.

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The gravel-voiced Aller, a 54-year-old Lakewood resident who works between games as a Compton High School history teacher, said he is relieved to be returning to the stadium, where he normally works aisles 1-17 in the third tier reserved section. He sells about 300 bags of peanuts per game, enough for him to earn about $13,000 a year.

“I’m just happy to be back. I’ll be insulting everybody again,” Aller promised Tuesday.

Well, everybody with one exception, he quickly added, remembering that media mogul Rupert Murdoch is interested in buying the Dodgers.

“I’d love to work with the Murdoch Corporation,” Aller said tactfully.