The concession workers at Fenway Park launched the first strike at the ballpark in its 113 year history, when the Dodgers were in town over the weekend.
Clayton Kershaw pitched at Fenway Park in the regular season for the first time on Saturday.
It went fine, until it didn’t.
As an aside, Kershaw has now pitched at every active MLB ballpark except Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Dodgers head to Baltimore in early September, so maybe Kershaw can scratch B’more off his bucket list.
The Dodgers have just concluded their series with the Boston Red Sox. As the team heads to Cincinnati, we break down a story that was unfolding in the background.
Fenway concession workers on strike
— Molly Knight (@mollyknight.bsky.social) 2025-07-26T22:46:02.206Z
On Friday, Members of UNITE HERE Local 26, comprising approximately a thousand beer sellers, cashiers, servers, souvenir vendors, and utility workers at Fenway Park, went on strike against food service company Aramark.
Workers at Fenway Park are on strike.
Concession workers walked off the job for the first time in the stadium’s 113 year history after being stiffed by Aramark.
They’re asking fans to boycott food and drink this weekend.
“They’re letting us suffer. Aramark can suffer too.” pic.twitter.com/9e9ZvkjbU6
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) July 26, 2025
“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. The culture of this place is you want a guy with a Boston accent to hand you a Sam Adams and not a robot,” said Local 26 President Carlos Aramayo.
According to Boston WCVB Channel 5, the union has outlined its key demands as follows: citywide-standard wages, guardrails on automation, increased gratuity for premium workers who serve season ticket holders and special guests, and fair scheduling that respects workers’ seniority.
According to Local 26, Fenway concessions employees earn under $20 an hour, a wage that the union says is $10 less than Boston’s standard for similar jobs.
In a bit of novel strategy, the Union called for fans not to boycott the games, but rather to forego buying concessions while at the ballpark.
“Respect the picket line,” the union posted. “We know tix are expensive, we’re not asking you to stay away from the home games. But we ARE asking you to not buy concessions. No purchase of pretzels, pickles or peanuts inside the ballpark during the homestand.”
Considering the deluge of Dodgers fans who came to Boston for the weekend series, which was not unnoticed by manager Alex Cora, if there was a time to tell people not to buy snacks this past weekend may have been it.
While we leave this story behind for the citizens of Boston to resolve, it is worth noting that the Dodgers have had their own ongoing labor issues with their Tour Guide union.
In February, the union lodged a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the team. The Union alleged that the team has made unilateral changes to the contract and has been negotiating in bad faith.
We will monitor these stories and provide updates as they become available.