More than 1,300 workers at Encore Boston Harbor are set to vote this week on whether to authorize a strike, with their current labor contract set to expire on August 31. The workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25, include housekeepers, cooks, servers, bartenders and slot attendants who keep the Everett resort running around the clock.
Teamsters Local 25 members are scheduled to vote Thursday, followed by UNITE HERE Local 26 members on Wednesday, according to WCVB Boston. Union leadership plans to announce the results of the strike authorization vote Thursday evening at the Knights of Columbus hall in Charlestown, and if approved, a walkout could begin as early as midnight on September 1, according to Casino.org. The roughly 1,350 workers all hold contracts with casino operator Wynn Resorts, and WCVB reports it has reached out to the company for comment.
What Workers Are Demanding
Encore Boston Harbor workers say they deserve fair contracts, and the union's core demands center on union-standard wage increases, fully funded healthcare, increased pension benefits and job security protections, per the same account from Casino.org. Workers have argued that pay and benefits have not kept pace with the rising cost of living across Greater Boston.
The dispute comes as Encore continues to dominate the state's gaming market. The resort took in $847 million in Boston last year, WCVB reports, while separate figures show Encore generated $430.9 million in gross gaming revenue during just the first seven months of 2025 alone — far outpacing MGM Springfield's $165 million and Plainridge Park's $105.1 million over the same stretch, according to Casino.org. Union leaders have pointed to those earnings to justify their demands for union-standard pay.
A Familiar Standoff
This is not the first time Encore workers have threatened to walk out. In June 2023, 98% of union workers there voted to authorize a strike, a show of force that led to a last-minute tentative deal on June 28 of that year and established the workforce's first multi-year union agreement, according to WGBH. That 2023 deal covered roughly 1,400 employees across both unions.
UNITE HERE Local 26 has also shown a willingness to follow through on strike threats elsewhere. In fall 2024, the union staged multi-month rolling strikes at 13 major Boston hotel properties before ratifying new contracts that October and November, securing wage increases, healthcare funding and elder and childcare assistance, according to The Daily Free Press. The union's history of prolonged action stretches back further still — in 2018, it conducted a 46-day strike against Marriott Hotels in Boston, the longest hotel strike in the city's history at the time, which set new regional standards for hospitality pay.
A Growing Union Footprint
The unions' leverage at Encore has expanded in recent months. In September 2025, 85 casino cage cashiers at the resort voted overwhelmingly to unionize with Teamsters Local 25, adding to the union's existing representation of warehouse, facility and transport staff there. Teamsters Local 25 represents more than 13,000 members across New England and coordinates joint bargaining with UNITE HERE Local 26 at the property.
Encore Boston Harbor opened in June 2019 following a $2.6 billion development along the Mystic River, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, making it the largest private single-phase construction project in state history. The 33-acre resort, licensed in 2014, includes a 600-room hotel, casino floor and waterfront park. Under state gaming law, Category 1 resort casinos like Encore pay a 25% tax on gross gaming revenues, and statewide casino tax collections had exceeded $2.3 billion by early 2026, per the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
The resort has also been the subject of corporate infrastructure commitments even as labor tensions rise. In January, Wynn Resorts signed an agreement with the city of Everett pledging up to $25 million toward planning and building a commuter-rail station near the property, part of broader transit and stadium plans for the area, as Hoodline previously reported. Whether that spending appetite extends to the labor demands on the table this week remains to be seen, with the strike vote outcome expected Thursday night and the contract deadline looming just days later.
