Boston Fenway Park Concession Workers Set to Picket in First-Ever Strike

Concession workers at Boston's Fenway Park could be soon taking to the picket lines.

Aramark employees and members of UNITE HERE Local 26 plan to announce their strike dates before the Red Sox return home to take on the Dodgers this weekend. 

The strike announcement comes after Aramark employees at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall voted by 95% to approve a strike last month. The union represents barbacks, cashiers, cooks, souvenir vendors, utility workers, and other staff at the park and its sister music venue.

“Since then, hundreds of workers have signed up for strike benefits and dozens have been trained as picket captains,” the union stated on Tuesday, July 22, in a statement shared with the Boston Herald. “Aramark and the Union did not make significant progress towards an agreement during their latest bargaining session, which took place last week.

“As a result,” the statement said, “Fenway workers are ready to go on strike for the first time in the 113-year-old history of America's favorite ballpark.”

According to the Herald, workers said they are “fighting” for four “key demands” in their contract, which expired on Dec. 31, 2024:

Local 26 explained how a cashier at Fenway makes $18.52 an hour. A beer at Fenway runs about $10.79. Concession workers at the Marlins Park in Miami earn $21.25 an hour. Beers there are sold for $5.14.

“During the strike, UNITE HERE Local 26 is asking the public to attend games as usual,” the union stated Tuesday, “but to support the strikers by not purchasing any food or drinks from inside the ballpark.”

Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito, who has been involved with the MLB Players Union during his career, told MassLive he stands in support of the workers.

“That staff is extremely important. They're the lifeblood of the ballpark. It's very important,” he said. “I've always been a believer that no matter what your job is, you should be compensated fairly for that work.”