Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
After months of work stoppages and negotiations, UNITE HERE Local 26 members at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall closed out 2025 with a powerful five-year agreement.
The new deal with food services contractor Aramark establishes the largest wage increases in the history of the historic baseball park. Automation was another core sticking point in bargaining and members successfully secured new provisions that set staff oversight standards for new technology.
“It came out well in the end, we got a fair contract,” said Austin Petruzziello, a Fenway vendor. “It's not just about the higher wages, it's about the respect as well. We now have staffing mandates and stable schedules so no one's getting overworked like they were before.”
“And together we were able to reach an agreement that the tech will still be there so that fans can get their beer a little bit faster, but our members aren’t gonna bear the cost of that,” said Local 26 President Carlos Aramayo. “And I think that is a model that really should exist in any discussion of technology in the workplace. And I am so proud of our members, who had to have some tough conversations about this, who were able to get to a place where we were able to settle the agreement on tech.”