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The Vermont senator is urging executives to pay Fenway employees a living wage and offer job protection.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is pushing for better pay and job protection for Fenway Park employees after meeting with workers who say they’re overworked and underpaid.
This week, Sen. Sanders (I-VT) held meetings with several Fenway workers, some of whom have worked at the iconic Boston ball park for decades. Sanders shared some of those conversations in a video posted on his Instagram account.
One worker told Sen. Sanders that last year she made half of what she made in gratuity the year before. This year, she said she’s on track to make half of last year’s tip earnings. Workers say their income is declining due to the implementation of self-service concession machines that reduce gratuities.
In June, Fenway Park workers voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike if Aramark, which operates the concessions and facilities at Fenway, does not bargain with them in good faith.
“Fenway Park is an iconic American institution, and it’s the workers there that make every Red Sox game special,” Sanders wrote in the post’s caption on Friday. “The team is extremely profitable. They should treat their employees with respect, pay them decent wages and negotiate a fair contract with the union.”
After meeting with the workers, Sanders sent a letter to Red Sox owner John Henry and Aramark CEO John Zillmer calling on them to negotiate in good faith with the roughly 1,000 people employed by Aramark at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall.
“Let’s be clear: The Boston Red Sox are not a poor baseball team. They are not going broke,” Sanders wrote, addressing Henry. “If you can afford to sign a $120 million three-year contract for your injured third baseman, you can afford to treat all of your hard-working and dedicated workers at Fenway Park with the dignity and the respect they deserve.”
Since Henry acquired the Red Sox in 2002 for $380 million, the team’s value has skyrocketed by more than $4.3 billion, Sanders said. Aramark made $262 million in profits last year and is worth over $11 billion.
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