Encore Boston Harbor Workers Strike, Demanding Improved Wages

_{Improved pay and benefits are sought by the striking workers at Encore Boston Harbor after they failed to reach a new contract with the luxury casino resort. (Photo: Marcus Baker / Alamy)}

More than 1,300 workers at the Encore Boston Harbor casino resort went on strike on Friday morning, saying that management has refused to negotiate with the unions even after workers authorized a strike last month.

Workers from UNITE HERE Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25 saw their contract with Wynn Resorts – the owner of the Everett, Massachusetts casino – expire on Aug. 31.

Workers: Wynn ‘Takes Our Labor for Granted’

Those workers walked off the job at 7:00 a.m. on Friday morning after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a new contract. According to a Teamsters statement, 97% of their workers voted on Aug. 20 to authorize a strike if a fair contract wasn’t reached.

“Encore management has pushed our members to the brink because they thought they could take our labor for granted,” Teamsters Convention, Trade Show, and Casino Division Director Tommy Blitsch said in a statement. “If Encore wants its casino running, it needs the workers who make it run. And the Teamsters are standing up and fighting back.”

Workers created a picket line outside the casino on Friday, with local community organizations and elected officials joining them to dissuade visitors and non-union workers from entering the casino.

“Encore slow-walked negotiations and played games with our members, and now they’re going to see how big of a mistake that was,” Local 25 President Thomas G. Mari said in a statement. “When a company refuses to respect the workers who make its profits possible, we shut it down. The Teamsters don’t cross picket lines and won’t be intimidated.”

Encore Boston Harbor remains open, with non-union workers currently staffing the resort.

Luxury Resort Wages Lag Behind City Hotels

The workers on strike say they want their new contract to reflect the improved pay and benefits seen across the hospitality industry in Boston.

“Our demands are a fair wage increase to match the wage increases that we have at the hotels downtown,” UNITE HERE Local 26 President Carlos Aramayo told reporters. “Two, to maintain our health insurance and our pension. And three, to have some kind of job security at this property.”

Other workers noted the disparity between what they are paid at a luxury resort compared to chain hotels in the region.

“The difference right now is about three bucks an hour,” Local 26 Executive Vice President Laura Moye said. “What we don’t understand is how workers at a five-star casino can be making less than workers at the Hampton Inn.”

In previous statements, Encore Boston Harbor has said that it is committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement with the unions. However, it has been said that wages and benefits for union workers have increased 40% over the past four years, while the resort's revenues have only grown by 2%.

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