Fenway Park Concession Workers On Strike For First Time In 113 Years

Hundreds of Aramark workers astatine Fenway Park are connected onslaught and readying to enactment retired for each of a homestand betwixt nan Boston Red Sox and nan Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday night.

Concession workers had group a deadline of noon Friday for Aramark and Fenway Park to scope an statement pinch nan Local 26 section of nan Massachusetts and Rhode Island hotel, casino, airdrome and nutrient services workers union. The walkout, which national leaders opportunity is nan first successful Fenway Park’s 113-year history, follows much than a twelvemonth of statement negotiations and months of escalating vexation complete pay, occupation information and automation.

In summation to higher wages, 1 of nan biggest sticking points has been nan emergence of self-service machines that Aramark installed astatine Fenway successful 2023. The institution added six Mashgin units – AI-powered kiosks that dispense brew and popcorn without nan request for quality unit – and Local 26 members opportunity nan machines frighten to erode nan instrumentality acquisition and switch workers altogether. Similar exertion has already dispersed to 20 of nan 30 ballparks crossed Major League Baseball and thousands of different venues nationwide.

US legislator Bernie Sanders, who said pinch national members during a caller Zoom call, weighed successful pinch a nationalist missive to Aramark CEO John Zillmer and Red Sox main proprietor John Henry, urging them to support “living wages” and “human interaction” astatine nan ballpark. “If Aramark tin spend to salary you $18.7 cardinal successful compensation and supply astir $100 cardinal successful dividends for your able shareholders,” Sanders wrote to Zillmer, “it tin spend to salary each of your workers a surviving costs and not frighten to return distant their jobs and their income pinch faceless Mashgin touchscreen computers.”

With nary woody reached by nan deadline, nan national went connected onslaught astatine noon connected Friday, rallying down demands for “living wages, guardrails connected exertion and R-E-S-P-E-C-T!”

The astir caller bargaining convention betwixt Aramark and nan national took spot past Tuesday, but nan 2 sides stay acold isolated connected cardinal issues. In a statement, Aramark expressed disappointment complete nan onslaught and said it had “contingency plans successful spot to guarantee that fans will not brushwood work interruptions”. The institution added it remained consenting to bargain successful bully faith.

With nan Red Sox and Dodgers scheduled to commencement astatine 7.10pm section time, national officials had a connection for fans attending this high-profile series: “We’re asking you to NOT bargain concessions wrong nan ballpark,” Local 26 wrote connected societal media. “Tailgate earlier nan games!”

Union workers walked nan picket statement extracurricular Fenway wearing greenish T-shirts that publication “FENWAY WORKERS ON STRIKE” and carried signs shaped for illustration baseballs base nan Local 26 logo.

Because concession activity astatine Fenway is seasonal, national leaders acknowledged that a prolonged indefinite onslaught would airs hardships for galore part-time workers. For now, nan scheme is to stay disconnected nan occupation done nan weekend. The Red Sox caput retired of municipality Monday for a three-game roadworthy travel successful Minnesota, earlier returning for a six-game homestand successful August.

In an unfastened missive this week, Local 26 called connected Henry and Fenway Sports Group to measurement successful and unit Aramark to present “reasonable proposals” that bespeak nan workers’ value. “Mr Henry, Fenway Park is your house,” nan missive said. “We’re asking you … to intervene.”