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By: Vanessa Bartlett
EVERETT – Workers at the Encore Boston Harbor, organized in bargaining units affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25 and UNITE HERE Local 26, went on strike September 4 in advance of Labor Day following the expiration of their contract on August 31.
These 1350 hospitality workers have made the hotel-casino located at the juncture between Everett and Boston run since 2019, when Wynn Resorts opened the hotel on one of the three territories designated by the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act as legal gaming sites.
Encore Boston Harbor occupies one of those parcels with a replica facade of the corporation’s flagship casino building in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yet as the state and the many involved municipalities continue to critically greenlight the massive corporation’s ambitions on the Mystic River, workers report that neither wages nor healthcare has kept up with company profits. The fall of tips, encouraged by the company and economic crisis across the United States, has also dramatically decreased net income for hotel workers.
On the Line and the Picket Line
The picket line stretches along Broadway Street in Everett. A wide array of casino workers are hitting the streets every single day: housekeepers, cooks, servers, bartenders, slot attendants, warehouse workers, and drivers held signs, banged drums, and cheered at cars as they passed by honking in support.
Chant leaders yelled into megaphones: “All day, all night – Encore workers on strike!”
According to UNITE HERE Local 26, 1,350 workers at the casino are on strike after 95% of union membership voted yes to the action on August 20. They are demanding pay that reflects the “five star” experience workers are expected to provide for casino guests, as well as maintaining healthcare benefits and job security. The unions are asking the public to “stay out!” of the resort while the strike is ongoing.
Marina Guzman, a cage cashier at Encore, said that she found Encore’s response to workers’ demands “disheartening.”
No word from them, no word at all to acknowledge the work that we do and all of the work that we put into the company every single day. Because I know that right now they’re having a hard time running the show without us.
“Coming in, I didn’t know of all the responsibilities that we would [have] as a cage cashier. I honestly thought I was just changing chips for people, but there’s so much we do in the back of house that nobody sees, that literally moves the whole casino,” said Guzman.
Guzman and other cage cashiers were on the picket line because, according to Guzman, their pay and benefits are not in line with the compensation other workers at the casino receive. “We have a lot of catching up to do. And the fact that I see all of my cage coworkers here just lets me know that they’re fighting for the same things that I am, just as hard,” said Guzman.
While she has only worked at Encore for three months, Guzman said she hopes to work at the casino for years to come.
The Fall of Tipping
Restaurant servers and bartenders are also demanding higher pay. Two cocktail servers explained that “tipping culture” has changed significantly, leading to lower than expected hourly wages for many servers at the casino.
Iris Beltran, who has worked at Encore for four years, reported to Working Mass:
The casino expects us to make, give or take, $400. We usually make about $200, maybe $300 [per shift]. Because of the thing with tipping culture, how people are like, ‘oh, you make enough because you’re getting tips,’… it’s heavily affecting us for sure.
Maria Zubieta, another cocktail server, said she’s hopeful the contract will include a stipend for shoes. Workers at hotel-resorts often work physically demanding shifts, the labor of which destroys shoeware, especially the cheap kind affordable to many hotel workers.
I got in trouble the other day because my shoes were too run-down. They’re like, ‘it’s not five stars’, you need new shoes. They’re not paying for those shoes.
Servers are asking for a $2 raise. While it won’t close the gap between expected and actual wages for servers, Zubieta said that, “it’ll at least help a little, you know. A little more security, and with our health insurance, it will help with that kind of stuff, and that will take a big load off.”
Currently, servers make $15 per hour: the Massachusetts state minimum wage.
Beltran said:
Guests expect top notch service, but we don’t get anything in return. So that’s what we’re trying to say… the money needs to come from somewhere, so if we’re trying to not expect tips from the guests, the casino should be the one [giving us] a raise.
Teamsters 25 and UNITE HERE 26 press releases have pointed out the vast gap between Encore profits and worker compensation. Wynn Resorts reported a total operations revenue of $1.86 billion for just the second quarter of 2026 alone. According to Wynn Resorts, Encore Boston Harbor alone made $209.3 million in revenue for that quarter.
Luke Williams, a flight attendant for American Airlines and union president of Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA)’s base in Boston, was at the picket line on day one of the strike.
“Local 26 is one of the biggest unions in the city, and flight attendants spend a lot of time in hotels, so we like to show our support for them whenever they go on strike,” Williams said.
Williams has worked tirelessly on the picket line with other members providing Encore workers with strike support, including logistical support and helping workers file for unemployment. Williams explained further:
DSA has gotten at least 38 people to sign up for shifts at the strike support office, which has mostly been helping workers file unemployment claims. Most people who volunteer will go to the picket lines as well, before and after their shifts.
The APFA president joined DSA in December 2025.
“The vibe on the picket line has been very upbeat, lots of people out there, it’s the first week of being out, so now things are starting to get more intense,” said Williams. “It seems to mean a lot when people show up for them when they haven’t seen people do that for them before.”
One of the most important shows of solidarity that workers need is commitment to not cross the picket line and strike benefit fund contributions.
Vanessa Bartlett is a member of Boston DSA and contributor to Working Mass.
The post UNITE HERE 26 and Teamsters 25 Hotel Workers On Simultaneous Strike Against Wynn Resorts appeared first on Working Mass.
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