Over 1,300 Encore Boston Harbor Workers Ready To Strike

It’s not quite on a par with the Boston Tea Party, but more than 1,300 workers at Encore Boston Harbor are set to go on strike.

Last week, members of Teamsters Local 25 and UNITE HERE Local 26 overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike that could be called at any time after Aug. 31. As of publication time, no strike has been called and it’s business as usual at the Wynn property. Conflicting media reports state that the union will either announce its strike plans Tuesday evening, or, alternatively, won’t give any advance notice.

“The workers at Encore Boston Harbor work hard and make the casino the financial success that it is,” Tommy Blitsch, director of the Teamsters convention, trade show, and casino division, said in a statement after the authorization vote was held. “Management’s failure to negotiate is leaving this group with no other choice but to head to the picket line. There is only one way this ends, with a fair agreement.”

For its part, Wynn says it has “put forward a serious proposal, one that is grounded in financial reality. What we cannot do is sign an agreement that is not financially sustainable, because an unsustainable agreement could put jobs at risk, for union and non-union employees alike,” per a Boston Business Journal report.

Big business

According to the unions, Encore took in $847 million in revenue in Boston last year, based on Wynn Resorts’ filings with the SEC.

The unions claim management has yet to come to the table with what they describe as a “fair deal with wage improvements.”

“We’re proud of what we built at Encore, and we take pride in the work we do every day,” Sem Avdic, a warehouse worker and member of Local 25, said after the vote. “We work hard to make this company successful, and we believe we deserve a fair contract that allows us to provide for our families. Nobody wants to strike. But nobody is going to keep making Wynn rich while our own families fall behind.”