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The strike at Encore Boston Harbor has entered its fourth week, with more than 1,300 employees still on the picket line as contract talks with Wynn Resorts remain deadlocked.
The walkout began Sept. 4, days after the workers’ contracts expired Aug. 31 without a new agreement. Wages, health care and job security remain the main sticking points, and neither side has announced a breakthrough.
Encore says union-represented employees earn an average annual compensation and benefits package of more than $95,000. The company says it wants a deal that is “financially sustainable” and protects jobs over the long term.
The standoff comes as Encore says it faces growing competition from online gambling, even though Massachusetts online casinos are not yet legal for real-money play.
From strike vote to picket line
Members of Teamsters Local 25 and UNITE HERE Local 26 walked off the job the morning of Sept. 4 and set up picket lines outside the Everett resort.
The strike followed an August authorization vote in which 97% of Teamsters members supported a walkout, the union said. Organizers said management did not return to the bargaining table after the vote.
Encore says it has stayed open throughout the dispute. The unions say operations have suffered, and the Globe reported that valet parking and the resort’s free water shuttle are closed. An Encore pastry cook told the Bay State Banner that a few of the resort’s restaurants have also shut down because their workers are on strike.
1,300 workers across two casino unions strike
The strike spans departments across the casino resort. Teamsters Local 25 represents 211 employees, including limo drivers, traffic attendants, valets, cage cashiers, guest experience attendants, warehouse workers, horticulture staff and call center employees.
UNITE HERE Local 26 represents many of the property’s hospitality workers, including housekeepers, cooks, bartenders and servers. Slot attendants have also joined the picket line.
Boston-level pay sits at center of strike
Higher wages are at the center of the dispute. The unions are seeking hourly raises of $10 over three years for non-tipped workers and $5 over the same period for tipped employees. Wynn has offered less than half of those increases.
Union officials say hourly wages at the resort now range from $15 to $32, with tipped employees earning less. They say the raises would put Encore workers on par with other five-star hotels in and around Boston.
Union leaders also point to the resort’s finances. Citing Wynn Resorts’ filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Teamsters said Encore generated $847 million in revenue last year and that its workers drive that success.
Local 25 President Thomas Mari has accused management of stalling. He said Boston has a strong union tradition and that Teamsters do not cross picket lines.
Boston and Everett councils back strikers
The strike has drawn support from elected officials across party lines. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., has publicly backed the workers, as has Republican US Senate candidate John Deaton.
The Boston City Council unanimously passed a resolution Sept. 16 committing members to honor the picket line by not dining, holding meetings or staying at the resort until the dispute is resolved. Councilor Henry Santana sponsored it with Sharon Durkan and Gabriela Coletta Zapata, noting that many Boston residents work at businesses across the region, including Encore.
Everett City Councilor Peter Pietrantonio, whose district includes the casino, sponsored a similar resolution. He criticized Encore for branding itself as a Boston resort without paying Boston-level wages. The Everett council had voted in June to renew Encore’s hotel license, but members pressed casino representatives on benefits the resort promised the city when it opened in 2019, the Globe reported.
Boycott push targets Encore’s bottom line
UNITE HERE is asking the public to avoid the resort while talks continue. Its website urges customers not to book rooms, gamble or make restaurant reservations until a contract is reached, and to tell Wynn Resorts why they took their business elsewhere. Local 26 President Carlos Aramayo has urged customers to respect the picket line. The tactic is meant to increase financial pressure on a resort that relies on steady visitor traffic.
After a Sept. 26 bargaining session, neither side has announced a breakthrough. Union leaders say workers will stay out until they win a fair contract, while Encore says the resort continues to operate normally.
