When the Boston Red Sox return home to start a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, they might not be the only ones making headlines in their own ballpark. Members of UNITE HERE Local 26, comprised of employees who work in concessions at Fenway Park, have threatened to strike as of 12 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon if negotiations with food services company Aramark continue to stall.
"If Aramark does not come to the table with meaningful proposals and a clear intention to settle an agreement, workers will begin striking," the union said, according to a report from Boston's WCBV. "This isn’t just a labor issue. It’s a community issue. It’s about whether the people who serve the hot dogs, pour the beer, and welcome the fans can afford to keep living in the city we love."
To be clear, the union members are not employees of Fenway Park or the Red Sox. They're employees of Aramark, and Boston isn't the one who determines whether their demands — which range from wages to fair scheduling and guardrails protecting against automation — are met. (Although they did send an open letter to Fenway Sports Group and principal owner John Henry this week.)
Still, while this isn't technically a Red Sox issue, it is taking place in Boston's backyard, and it certainly affects Boston fans. And it also just so happens to time up awfully neatly with the return of one Mookie Betts, who knows a thing or two about not getting paid what he's worth at Fenway Park.
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Mookie Betts' return still stings for Red Sox fans
Again, Henry isn't the one responsible for satisfying UNITE HERE's demands. But you have to admit there's at least a little bit of irony in Betts returning to Boston at the same time Fenway might become home to a very visible weekend strike. Of course, Betts himself was once in a similar position, hoping to get what he (understandably) felt like he was worth as he got set to enter the final year of his contract in 2020.
The former AL MVP wanted a contract extension, but he and the Red Sox failed to see eye-to-eye on just what that number should be. Rather than acquiesce to their franchise player who was still smack in the middle of his prime, Boston decided to cut bait, sending him to the Dodgers in exchange for Jeter Downs, Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong — one of the most infamous trades in the city's sports history.
All Betts has done since is make four more All-Star teams while bagging three more top-five MVP finishes and winning two World Series rings in the six years since his departure for L.A. He's in the midst of a down year in 2025, with a .683 OPS entering play on Thursday, but the 32-year-old should get back to being his usual dynamic self soon enough. Maybe returning to the place that stiffed him years ago is just the spark he needs.