There could soon be a noticeable number of Boston Red Sox fans walking around Fenway Park with empty hands.
Fans are encouraged to purchase their preferred beverage or food item outside the gates of the historic ballpark as concession workers threaten to go on strike.
The Red Sox were idle on Thursday after wrapping up a road trip. The team returns home for a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. Last month, Aramark employees and members of UNITE HERE Local 26 voted in favor of a labor strike, The Boston Herald reported.
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There has never been a labor strike in Fenway Park’s 113-year history. However, last month, Aramark employees at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall voted in favor of authorizing the first-ever strike.
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Aramark employees at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall are represented by the UNITE HERE Local 26 labor union. Staff who are represented by the union include: cooks, barbacks, souvenir vendors, utility workers, cashiers and others who work at the ballpark and the nearby music hall.
“Aramark and the Union did not make significant progress towards an agreement during their latest bargaining session, which took place last week,” the union said.
“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 workers’ most recent contract expired nearly seven months ago.
The employees argue they are “fighting” for multiple “key demands” in a potential new deal. In addition to higher wages, workers want to see “guardrails on automation” and the implementation of a scheduling system that “respects workers’ seniority.”
According to Local 26, cashiers at Fenway Park earn $18.52 an hour during their shifts, while workers at the Miami Marlins LoanDepot Park in Miami who hold the same job title are paid $21.25 per hour.
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