Massachusetts: Some Encore Boston Harbor Patrons Keep Gambling as Workers Stay on Strike

Rich West says he feels “a huge amount of empathy” for the workers picketing outside Encore Boston Harbor. He has still been inside the Everett casino three times since they went on strike, he told The Boston Globe.

West was one of several patrons the Globe interviewed for an October 7 report on gamblers weighing sympathy for the strikers against a night at the casino. Their choices varied, and a handful of interviews cannot show how many people are staying away.

A month on the picket line

More than 1,300 workers walked off the job on September 4, 2026, after their contracts expired on August 31, GBH reported. They are represented by UNITE HERE Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25, and the dispute centers on wages, health benefits and job security.

Local 26 puts the number of strikers at about 1,350, including housekeepers, cooks, servers, bartenders, slot attendants, warehouse workers and drivers. Casino jobs are also at stake in Washington, where 850 casino jobs hang on the Maverick bankruptcy. Workers voted to authorize the strike on August 20, with more than 95 percent in favor, the union said. Encore, just outside Boston, is operated by Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts. Also in Massachusetts, the new online lottery brought in $139.4M in sales in under five weeks.

The unions also want to keep job-security protections and benefits from their previous contract, including a guarantee of minimum hours for a set number of workers, GBH reported. Encore told GBH it was not trying to eliminate the minimum-hours provision.

A call to stay away

The union is asking the public to stay away until a deal is reached, with no hotel stays, gambling, dining or events, according to its campaign page.

Some regulars are listening. Gina Avellani, who usually visits once or twice a week, told the Globe she will not go back until the strike is resolved, although her aunt still goes every week.

West sees it differently. Once inside, he told the paper, “I find no stress going to play a slot machine.”

Wynn says the resort is running

When the strike began, Wynn told GBH that Encore “remains open and operational.” A month later, Wynn officials said most resort operations were running as normal, Casino.org reported. Those are the company’s descriptions, not an independent measure of service, and guest reviews cited by Casino.org were mixed.

The reports cited here do not establish the strike’s financial impact. Individual patrons’ accounts cannot show the overall change in attendance or revenue.

Negotiations remain unresolved

A Local 26 spokesperson told Casino.org on October 6 that negotiators had met Wynn management only twice since the walkout began, most recently on September 30. The union says workers should get the same pay and protections as unionized hotel workers in Boston.

Wynn has said union members at Encore already average almost $96,000 a year in pay and benefits, Casino.org reported.

The unions dispute how representative that average is, saying it includes tips and benefits, is influenced by higher-paid roles and does not reflect a typical worker’s take-home pay, Casino.org reported.

Wynn told Casino.org it is committed to an agreement that recognizes employees’ contributions while protecting the jobs and economic benefits Encore provides. When the strike began, the company told GBH it wanted a deal that is “fair, financially sustainable and protects jobs for the long term.”

No agreement had been announced in the October 6 and 7 reports.

Featured image: File photo of Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Massachusetts, seen from the Riverwalk in September 2024. Photo: 4300streetcar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)