Picket outside of Encore Boston Harbor on Sept. 7.Photo: Kendall Buhl/ WBZ NewsRadio Boston
EVERETT, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The picketing at Encore Boston Harbor doesn't stop just because of Labor Day.
The picketers continue to strike after walking off the job on Friday, Sept. 4. Over 1,300 workers are striking following failed contract negotiations with Wynn Resorts management. Workers include housekeepers, bartenders, servers and slot attendants to name a few.
Some 1,000 employees, represented by Teamsters Local 25 and UNITE HERE Local 26, voted to authorize a strike on Aug. 20. On Sept. 1, the union committee at Encore voted on a strike deadline, also setting the date and time they'd walk off the job.
"I don't think the company is really, seriously negotiating right now. So, until that happens, here's where we'll be," one of the strikers said.
Workers are seeking a $10 raise over three years for non-tip staff, a $5 raise for tipped staff, along with healthcare and better job security. Wynn Resorts says it wants a deal "grounded in financial reality."
No one knows when the strike will end, but Local 26 Communications Director Seth Ogilvie said he's amazed to see the comradery between protestors.
"Just all these folks coming together to say 'Hey, we as human beings, we as working-class people have power... People have power, and they're expressing it right now," Ogilvie said.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Kendall Buhl reports.