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Boston Red Sox fans had a tough time getting food and drinks this past weekend at Fenway Park.
That’s because, for the first time in its 113-year span, concession workers at the famed stadium are currently on strike, citing unlivable wages.
According to Local 26, Fenway concessions workers, employed by Aramark, “currently earn under $20 an hour, which is about $10 an hour below the citywide standard for similar jobs.”
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Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) questions Secretary of Education Linda McMahon as she testifies in front of the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies in Was (Jack Gruber-USA TODAY via Imagn Images / IMAGN)
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) caught wind of the union’s claim and took it as an opportunity to rip Red Sox owner John Henry.
“Hey @RedSox I’m a diehard fan – but the fact that your owner John Henry doubled his net worth in just 5 years – to $5.5 BILLION – and you pay many of your workers $10/hour less than comparable earners in the area…it stinks,” Murphy said in an X post on Monday.
In an email to FOX Business, the Red Sox said they are “not a party to the negotiations,” which are strictly between Aramark and Local 26.
The labor stoppage came after a 12 p.m. deadline passed on Friday to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with Aramark.
Staff who are represented by the UNITE HERE Local 26 union include cooks, barbacks, souvenir vendors, utility workers, cashiers and others who work at the ballpark and the nearby music venue.
A general view of Fenway Park during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox. (Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images / IMAGN)
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Earlier this week, concession and restaurant workers at Fenway Park and the music hall encouraged fans to purchase their preferred beverage or food item outside the gates of the ballpark as workers threatened to picket.
Union officials sent a letter to Henry, stating that it was not “just a labor issue. It’s a community issue.”
“It’s about whether the people who serve the hot dogs, pour the beer, and welcome the fans can afford to keep living in the city we love. It’s about ensuring Fenway Park continues to be a place of pride — not just for baseball, but for how it treats the people who make it special,” they wrote, via WCVB.
A labor union spokesperson clarified that the workers’ move to strike is not a show of disrespect toward the baseball team or the fans. Instead, their issue starts and ends with the concessionaire.
“We’re not against the Red Sox. We’re not against the fans. This is a situation with a concessionaire, a concessionaire who is trying to pay bottom dollar. A concessionaire not willing to deal with technology issues, and it frankly, I think, undermines the quality of the park,” said Carlos Aramayo, Local 26 president.
“The culture of this place is you want a guy with a Boston accent to hand you a Sam Adams and not a robot.”
Fans order concessions during a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics on May 13, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston. (Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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“We have bargained in good faith and are disappointed the union rejected our latest offer and chose to call a strike,” Aramark said in a statement. “We are committed to delivering an outstanding fan experience and have contingency plans in place to ensure fans will not encounter service interruptions.”
The Red Sox are on the road against the Minnesota Twins but return for a six-game homestand on Friday.
Fox Business’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
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