Union workers at Encore Boston Harbor Casino headed to the picket lines on Monday. The strike was in response to stalled contract talks with Wynn Resorts.
UNITE HERE Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25 coordinated the work stoppage to start on Labor Day. They plan to remain on strike until they reach a deal with management. The labor unions represent housekeepers, cooks, servers, bartenders, slot attendants, drivers and other workers.
Union leaders said they want higher wages, a continuation of medical benefits, and protections against future job losses. Encore Boston Harbor has leaned into automation in recent years, and the union wants to protect against losing employees to machines.
“We’ve got hotels that are downtown that don’t make half as much money as Encore that are getting better wages than us,” Keenan Green, a cook at the property, told local media. “We just want to get to the standard of where they’re at.”
Casino Points To Rising Wages
The casino disagrees with the complaints about wagers. Company representatives said wages and benefits for UNITE HERE and the Teamsters employees have grown 36.8% over the last four years. The growth came despite a 1.9% increase in company revenue over that same time span.
Encore management added that the average worker represented by the two unions makes $95,000 annually in wages and benefits.
“We are committed to finding common ground that is fair, financially sustainable and protects jobs for the long term,” company representatives said.
Despite the work stoppage by the two unions, the property remains open. Management and non-union staff continue to operate the resort.
The strike comes after their current contract expired on Aug. 31. In the days preceding the expiration, 93% of represented workers voted to strike if they didn’t reach a new deal.
Workers at the property also approved a strike in 2023, but that was circumvented when the unions and company later reached a deal.
In November 2023, Las Vegas’ three biggest casino companies, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Wynn Resorts avoided a strike just days before the deadline. The three companies all struck five-year deals with the unions, but they still threatened a work stoppage a few months later at the Trump Hotel and Westgate Casino.
But those properties avoided a strike as well.
