Fenway Park workers fly to Liverpool to ask John Henry for negotiation help

As contract discussions stall, Fenway Park staff traveled almost 3,100 miles last week to request that Red Sox owner John Henry intervene in talks with the park’s food provider.

In order to beg Henry for assistance, four food and beverage employees and one union organizer traveled to Liverpool last week, the workers stated on Wednesday.

Workers in the food and beverage departments at MGM Music Hall and Fenway Park claim they haven’t made any progress in wage and automation policy negotiations with their employer, the food service business Aramark. After going on a weekend strike in July, the workers have subsequently gone back to work.

Henry, who also owns the Liverpool Football Club and the parent company of Boston.com, was allegedly in Liverpool last Friday to watch the team’s season opener. Regarding the contract negotiations for the Boston workers, he has not publicly commented.

Since Liverpool won the Premier League last year, Henry’s focus is reportedly elsewhere, possibly on the other side of the world, according to Carlos Aramayo, President of UNITE HERE Local 26.

Aramayo stated, “We’re trying to raise awareness of what we’re doing here by saying, hey, don’t forget us here at home.”

Employees Joe Baio, Lauren Casello, Austin Petruzziello, and Charbel Salameh reported that their shirts attracted attention from Logan Airport passersby and garnered support from both travelers and the media.

According to Casello, a 22-season Fenway suite attendant, the group had a meeting with Ian Byrne, a Liverpool West Derby member of parliament. They discussed Fenway’s battle against ballpark automation.

When it comes to stadium automation services, Casello stated that they are aware of its imminence and do not want it.

Our objective was to draw attention to our difficulties and, in particular, the human cost of losing jobs in order to automate a checkout. “I was a barback for fifteen years,” Baio remarked.

We are not against technology in se; rather, we are against it when it is not secure. “I’ve been selling beer at Fenway for 28 years,” Salameh continued. A person’s level of intoxication cannot be determined by their simply taking a beer from a machine.

They also made the trip to Liverpool’s stadium to snap pictures prior to Friday night’s crucial match. Speaking with supporters outside the stadium, Salameh observed how understanding and open people were.

According to Salameh, they realize that it’s only a matter of time because if something begins in one location, it will eventually spread to the remaining ownership holdings. When you pause and consider it, you realize that this might happen in our stadium within a few weeks or months.

Salameh stated that he was aware that they had no possibility of meeting Henry face-to-face, even though the primary goal of the trip was to present their case to him.

Instead, the group handed another letter to Henry’s Liverpool office that was similar to an open letter issued on July 22.

We’re all prepared to go to any lengths to secure a contract, including traveling to Pittsburgh, where he owns the Penguins, or Liverpool. According to Petruzziello, a nine-season vendor. We just won’t give up until we receive the contract we are entitled to and require.

The trip comes after a three-day strike, the first in the history of the ballpark, during the Dodgers’ homestand weekend on July 25–27.

Aramayo described the involvement in the strike as exceptional and said it left him speechless.

“It was really important to be there, to be seen, to be loud, and to be proud,” he said.

The union will advocate for a number of requests, such as higher tips for certain employees, citywide uniform pay, equitable scheduling that considers seniority, and automation policies.

Aramayo stated that although the union and Aramark had a fruitful negotiating session on August 13, the two parties remain at odds on Fenway’s two main concerns: automation and salaries.

We want to significantly reduce the difference between Fenway employees who make $18 and change per hour and other city workers who perform comparable services but are paid seven or eight dollars more, Aramayo stated.

According to Aramayo, the organizations will resume their negotiations on August 28.

He warned that another strike might occur at Fenway Park before the season ends if their contract isn’t resolved.

He claimed that the employees’ visit to Liverpool demonstrates their dedication to the cause.

According to Aramayo, this conveys the idea that our members will stop at nothing to try to cross the finish line. We’re going to take three days off from work and travel back and forth to England if that’s what it takes.