Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization

What Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization does

The Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH) is a non-profit, member-driven labor union founded in 2018 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It operates simultaneously as a hiring hall, a workforce development service provider, and a collective bargaining organization, connecting service and hospitality workers with employers in the Milwaukee area. The organization was launched to implement a Community Benefits Agreement tied to Milwaukee's new downtown arena district and has grown to represent over 1,000 workers across ten worksites.

MASH's core service is labor representation and contract negotiation for service-sector workers at employer worksites including Fiserv Forum, Levy Premium Foodservice, Deer District LLC, Pabst Theater Group, and Gather (Deer District). Its principal commercial achievement is the January 2020 landmark three-year collective bargaining agreement establishing a $15/hour minimum wage, cost-of-living adjustments, and longevity pay increases for arena workers. The organization does not charge membership dues to workers; its economics are tied to employer-side counterparties through legally binding collective bargaining structures rather than a traditional product or SaaS revenue model. MASH is governed by a member-driven, democratic structure with three named officers (President/Business Manager Peter Rickman, Secretary-Treasurer Troy Brewer, and Vice President Kenny Green) and a lean staff of six.

The organization's underlying technology is non-existent in any product sense — it is built on a standard WordPress website (mashworkers.org) with Google Analytics and standard third-party cookies, and a Facebook presence. Its competitive positioning rests on legal/regulatory structures (community benefits agreements, collective bargaining rights) and institutional relationships with major Milwaukee entertainment employers, rather than on proprietary technology or data assets. As of mid-2020, MASH had broadened its programmatic scope beyond core collective bargaining to include a "People's Pandemic Response" initiative, signaling an intent to expand into broader worker-support and community advocacy work.

Name

Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization

Legal name

Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization

Website

https://mashworkers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MASH is a Milwaukee-based non-profit labor union founded in 2018 that represents over 1,000 service and hospitality workers across ten worksites through collective bargaining, a hiring-hall model, and workforce development services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Union Membership Representation: MASH represents over 1,000 workers across ten worksites as a member-driven, democratic union. The organization enforces industry-leading union contracts and collective bargaining agreements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MASH is a member-driven, democratic labor union that operates as a hiring hall, workforce development service provider, and labor organization connecting service and hospitality workers with good jobs and employers with a quality workforce. The organization represents over 1,000 workers across ten worksites in Milwaukee, enforcing industry-leading union contracts and collective bargaining agreements that establish living wages and worker protections.

Product overview

MASH (Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization) is a labor union, hiring hall, and workforce development service provider. It is not a technology product company. MASH connects workers with good jobs and employers with a quality workforce in the service and hospitality sectors. The organization represents over 1,000 workers across ten worksites in Milwaukee and beyond, implementing union contracts and advocating for industry-leading employment standards. Key offerings include union representation for service and hospitality workers, workforce development services, and advocacy for living wages and worker rights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Union Representation for Service and Hospitality Workers Member-driven, democratic union representation for service and hospitality workers at employer worksites, enforcing industry-leading union contracts and collective bargaining agreements that establish living wages, benefits, and worker voice.
• Hiring Hall Services Hiring hall service that connects service and hospitality workers with good jobs and provides employers with a pipeline of trained, committed workers, operating as the matching mechanism at the core of MASH's operations.
• Workforce Development Services Workforce development services that raise standards for job quality, career pathways, and skill-building for service and hospitality workers in the Milwaukee area.

Quantifiable outcome

• Achieved $15/hour minimum wage for Fiserv Forum arena workers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fiserv ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2020MASH secured a landmark union contract with Fiserv Forum in January 2020. The agreement establishes a $15/hour minimum wage for arena workers employed by Levy Premium Foodservice and Deer District LLC, with cost of living adjustments and longevity pay increases over the three-year agreement.
• Levy Premium FoodservicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor foodservice employer at Fiserv Forum whose workers are represented by MASH under the landmark union contract featuring $15/hour minimum wage and industry-leading employment standards.
• Deer District LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmployer of Fiserv Forum guest services, operations, security and ticketing staff represented by MASH union. Workers at this employer are covered under the union contract with $15/hour minimum wage.
• Pabst Theater GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEntertainment venue employer where MASH represents box office, event staff, hospitality and security employees. Contact for union representation at [email protected].
• Milwaukee BuckscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Bucks organization partnered with MASH to establish a community benefits agreement for workers at Fiserv Forum. In January 2020, the Bucks agreed to $15 minimum wage at Fiserv Forum, hailed as a historic victory. The Bucks committed to living wage deal for new arena through the Alliance for Good Jobs agreement starting in 2016.
• Gather (Deer District)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeer District food and beverage operations where MASH represents guest services and operations staff under the union contract.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Jobs With Justice: Jobs With Justice is a labor coalition network supporting workers' rights campaigns. It is comparable to MASH as a labor-advocacy ally operating in similar spaces of worker organizing, coalition building, and policy advocacy for service-sector workers.

Broad incumbents

• Teamsters: The Teamsters represent a diverse range of workers including those in food processing, hospitality logistics, and event services. It is comparable to MASH as a union with service-sector membership and a similar collective bargaining framework, though at much larger national scale.
• Change to Win: Change to Win is a federation of unions focused on organizing service-sector workers, including SEIU and UNITE HERE. It is comparable to MASH in its emphasis on organizing workers in industries such as hospitality, food service, and entertainment.
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): SEIU is the largest labor union in North America representing service workers across healthcare, janitorial, and hospitality. It is comparable to MASH as a sector-spanning service-worker labor organization, though SEIU operates nationally at vastly greater scale.
• AFL-CIO: The AFL-CIO is the largest federation of labor unions in the U.S. It is comparable to MASH as an apex labor body, with affiliated unions including service and hospitality worker organizations operating under a similar collective bargaining framework.

Emerging players

• Fight for $15: Fight for $15 is a grassroots movement advocating for $15/hour minimum wage and union rights in fast food and low-wage industries. It is comparable to MASH as a labor-advocacy effort focused on raising wage floors in the service sector, though it operates more as a campaign than a bargaining union.
• National Domestic Workers Alliance: NDWA is a domestic worker advocacy and organizing coalition. It is comparable to MASH as a worker-driven organization focused on building power among service-sector workers traditionally excluded from labor protections, though operating in a different sub-sector.

Direct peers

• Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United): ROC United advocates for restaurant workers on wages, working conditions, and racial justice. It is comparable to MASH as a service-industry worker organization pursuing living wages and industry reform through both organizing and policy advocacy.
• Workers United (SEIU): Workers United, affiliated with SEIU, represents workers in laundry, food processing, and hospitality. It overlaps with MASH in service-sector representation and organizing workers at multiple hospitality venues, making it a direct comparable in mission and constituency.
• UNITE HERE: UNITE HERE represents hospitality workers in hotels, gaming, food service, and airports. It is the closest direct peer to MASH given overlapping hospitality and venue-based membership, similar collective bargaining approach, and comparable employer targets in entertainment venues.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MASHworkers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mash-workers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization