Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Fenway concessions workers are poised to strike at any moment. Here’s what to know.
A strike would mark the first in the ballpark’s 113-year-old history.
Fenway Park concession workers are prepared to strike after recent bargaining sessions made little headway, the union announced Tuesday.
“As a result, Fenway workers are ready to go on strike for the first time in the 113-year-old history of America’s favorite ballpark,” the union said Tuesday in a press release.
Food and beverage company Aramark runs concessions and other food services at Fenway and MGM Music Hall. The company’s employees at both venues are members of Unite Here Local 26.
Fenway and MGM Music Hall workers and other Unite Here Local 26 union members are set to picket and announce the official dates of the strike at noon on Wednesday at 145 Ipswich St., the union said.
Advertisement:
Ninety-five percent of Aramark workers at the two venues voted in June in favor of a strike. Following the nearly unanimous vote, “hundreds” of employees signed up for strike benefits and “dozens” have been trained as picket captains, the union said.
Local 26, which represents workers in Mass. and Rhode Island hospitality industries, said it “did not make significant progress toward an agreement” with Aramark during its most recent bargaining session, which occurred last week.
The union is going to bat for multiple demands, including citywide-standard wages, increased gratuities for some workers, policies around automation, and fair scheduling that takes seniority into account.
Advertisement:
The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We intend to keep working with the union toward a settlement that works for everyone,” Chris Collom, Aramark’s vice president of corporate communications, wrote in a statement to Boston.com. “In the event of a strike, we have contingency plans in place to ensure that services are not interrupted.”
Fenway Park concession workers currently make less than $20 an hour, according to Glassdoor.
In the event of a strike, Local 26 is requesting the public’s support by not purchasing food or drinks from inside the ballpark.
Fans “should be prepared for very long lines and inadequate service,” during a strike at the ballpark, seating attendant Gail Bonica told Axios.
Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito voiced his support for the union, telling MassLive that Fenway Park’s staff is the “lifeblood of the ballpark.”
“I’ve always been a believer that no matter what your job is, you should be compensated fairly for that work,” Giolito, who served as the Chicago White Sox’ MLB Player’s Union representative from 2022-2024, said. “Fenway and a lot of other places are leaning in the direction of automation and making things cashless.”
Advertisement:
The strike has also garnered national attention, notably from Senator Bernie Sanders.
Sanders met with a number of long-time Fenway employees, and compiled their conversations in an Instagram post. He further wrote a letter to Aramark CEO John J. Zillmer, urging Zillmer to bargain with the union.
“Your workers have made years and sometimes decades worth of sacrifices to continue working at Fenway and serving Red Sox fans because they love their jobs and their community,” Sanders wrote to Zillmer. “It is not a radical idea to pay your workers a living wage and to treat all of them with respect, not contempt.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com