More than 1,300 employees at Encore Boston Harbor in Everett will to go on strike Friday morning barring a last-minute agreement.
The workers, who are represented by UNITE HERE Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25, are set to strike just days after their contract with casino owner Wynn Resorts ended. Negotiations over a new agreement remain unresolved.
Carlos Aramayo, president of UNITE Here Local 26, told GBH News they’ve been at the bargaining table for the past six months with little progress.
“The workers’ demands, I think, are very reasonable and modest,” he said. “They’re looking to have the same wage standard that exists at more than 40 hotels in the Boston area. They want to maintain the health benefits and pension benefits that they have through their union, and they want to have some reasonable job security provisions.”
Union members overwhelmingly voted last month to authorize a strike if a new labor deal was not reached by Aug. 31. The workers who voted in favor of the strike included housekeepers, cooks, waitstaff, bartenders, slot attendants, drivers and warehouse workers at Encore.
Workers are seeking a wage increase of $10 over three years for non-tipped employees and $5 for tipped employees.
Encore employees generally make less than counterparts at other Boston-area hotels, according to the union.
“A housekeeper makes about $1.22 less an hour at Encore than at a comparable property like the Omni Seaport or the Sheraton Boston, and so we want to see that gap made up,” said Aramayo.
He added that more than 65% of the hotels in Boston are unionized, and have contracts that have wage increases built into them over the next couple of years.
“For example, a $1.75 wage increase next year that we think, and our members think, that workers at Encore should receive,” Aramayo said.
Both unions are also pushing to continue job security protections and healthcare benefits that were established in their previous contract. This includes a provision that guarantees a set number of staff members a minimum amount of working hours — something workers say Encore is trying to eliminate.
Employees also say that the resort and casino wants them to use their wage increases to cover rising healthcare costs.
Aramayo said gaming was’nt legalized more than 15 years ago in the state to “fill the pockets of the gambling industry,” but to give back to the community.
“I really think that one of the major ways to give back to the community is by settling a contract that actually ensures that the people who clean the rooms, clean the floors, serve the drinks, work at the restaurants actually can make ends meet and be able to live in this community,” he said “I really think that is the difference between what our members are asking for and Encore’s frankly insulting proposals that they’ve made so far across the table.”
In 2025, Encore took in $847 million in Boston, according to Wynn Resorts’ filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The resort and casino also acts as the fourth highest-grossing casino in revenue outside of Nevada, according to the American Gaming Association.
But Teamsters Local 25 union leaders previously said in a press release that management still “refuses to come back to the table to negotiate a fair deal with wage improvements.”
A spokesperson for Wynn Resorts told GBH News on Thursday that “the unions have chosen to initiate a strike despite our continued efforts to reach an agreement through negotiations.”
The statement went on, “We are committed to finding common ground that is fair, financially sustainable and protects jobs for the long term. Encore Boston Harbor remains open and operational, and we stand ready to service our guests while we continue negotiations.”
