Staples Workers’ Complaints Invalid

* Most of the people who work for Ogden at the Staples Center previously worked at the Forum, Coliseum, Dodger Stadium and Sports Arena, and they knew before they started that the math for full-time employment would never add up [“Food Workers to Stage Protest at Staples Center,” Dec. 16].

Let’s do the math. One hour, give or take, setup. Three hours, give or take, game time. And what one must remember is that most are closing by the middle of the last period. Four to 4 1/2 hours per shift, times five events, equals 20 to 22 1/2 hours per week. So what do these people expect, to serve hot dogs and beer to invisible customers for 3 1/2 hours per event?

And to the workers who complained about the parking lots being too far and the shuttle often running 45 minutes late, the reporter fails to mention that the parking is provided at no cost to the employees, and that even if the shuttle is late, the lot at Broadway and Olympic is maybe a 15-minute walk. And since when are employers obligated to pay workers to get to work?

So if Times reporters would do a little investigating, instead of relying on what is surely a biased opinion as the gospel truth, we as your readers will be better off for it, and then we can decide as a community whom we would defend.

RICHARD PARKS

La Puente