BOSTON’s Fenway Park employees have voted to go on a labor strike in response to a controversy.
Fenway Park, the home of the MLB‘s Boston Red Sox, could see its workforce unite to stop working over a salary dispute.
The workers of Fenway Park, which is the home of the Boston Red Sox, signed off on a strike on Sunday[/caption]
Fenway Park, which was built in 1912, employs approximately 1,000 people, and a good fraction of them have decided to authorize a labor strike[/caption]
This week, a statement from UNITED HERE Local 26 revealed that a contract between its workers, who work at Fenway Park, and food company Aramark expired on December 31, 2024.
And a new contract hasn’t been signed off on since the bargaining began in January.
Local 26 revealed that Fenway concessions workers currently earn under $20 an hour, a wage that the union says is $10 below Boston’s standard for similar jobs.
The salary controversy has caused the workers to authorize a labor strike in response to Aramark, the company that employs them.
“The reason this is happening is because Fenway and the management do not respect our members and do not respect our members and do not respect the workers here,” Local 26 president Carlos Aramayo said, per WCVB.
“We are [here] today to send a message to Aramark, to send a message to Fenway, to say listen enough is enough, come to the bargaining table, settle this contract, or there will be a strike.”
The workers affected include beer sellers, cashiers, cooks, souvenir vendors, and others.
More than 700 of the 1,000 concession workers are looking to strike against Fenway Park.
“The union has been bargaining with Aramark since early this year but both parties remain far apart on key issues including wages, technology, and scheduling,” Local 26 said in a statement.
“More than 700 workers, including some who have worked at the ballpark for four or more decades, have signed a petition to support these core contract demands.
The Vice President of Aramark’s Corporate Communications, Chris Collom, has responded to the strike authorization in a statement.
“We intend to keep working with the union toward a settlement that works for everyone. In the event of a strike, we have contingency plans in place to ensure that services are not interrupted,” Collom wrote on Sunday evening.
The vote to go on strike occurred just minutes before the New York Yankees faced off against the Red Sox in a Sunday afternoon game at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox got the sweep against the arch rivals, but they would turn heads with a controversial trade just hours later.
The team traded away three-time MLB All-Star Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks and two prospects.
Fenway Park’s employee situation comes as the Red Sox have been criticized for trading away homegrown star Rafael Devers in a stunning move on Sunday[/caption]
The Red Sox have been blasted for the move as the team moved on from yet another homegrown star (traded Mookie Betts in 2020, didn’t retain Xander Bogaerts in free agency in 2023) in what appears to be a money-saving decision.
But the Red Sox and Devers also had a fractured relationship over the 28-year-old’s position on the field.
Nonetheless, Boston has won nine of their last 11 games and currently holds the final Wild Card spot with a 38-36 record.
