It's the summer of strikes in Boston as unions embrace work stoppages
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Vendors picket outside Fenway Park. Photo: Cassandra Klos/Getty Images
Three notable work stoppages have captured headlines this summer: the Republic Services waste removal strike, Fenway Park vendors' picket and bar advocates walking off the job over a wage dispute.
Why it matters: Organized labor in Massachusetts and across the country is more willing to take direct action as the economy fluctuates and the cost of living puts pressure on workers.
Driving the news: Multiple unions are taking hardline positions on automation, wages and benefits, potentially influencing future negotiations regionwide.
- They've been spurred on by successful strikes last year that saw hotel workers win concessions from owners. The hotel workers' local, UNITE HERE Local 26, is the same union behind the Fenway Park action.
What they're saying: "Our union members have found courage, even at a time they know it's going to get worse," Greater Boston Labor Council president Darlene Lombos told Axios.
- Lombos said "there's something special about this moment in history," as economic pressure and federal policies make it harder for working people, yet unions are rallying to support strikes.
- Lombos said unions are finding "the courage and bravery to step out when we know that things are hard and are going to get harder."
Catch up quick: Waste collector Republic Services and the national Teamsters have been at a standoff over wages.
- That hit home July 1 when 450 local workers went on strike and disrupted normal trash collection for 14 municipalities and countless apartment buildings, restaurants and other businesses.
And there's history being made at Fenway Park, but it's not because of the Red Sox.
- For the first time in the park's 113-year history, concession and restaurant workers struck over the weekend during the Red Sox-Dodgers series before suspending the strike while still in negotiations.
Lawyers who defend indigent clients are demanding more pay from the state and walked off the job this summer, leading to hundreds of cases being dismissed because of the lack of representation.
The intrigue: Labor tensions are also allegedly at the heart of the Market Basket management fervor, with board members accusing ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas of supporting a worker revolt at his own company of 90-plus New England locations.
What's next: The waste collectors, Fenway vendors and bar advocates are all still in negotiations while their work stoppages continue.
- The strike bug might be spreading: Union nurses on Cape Cod authorized a three-day strike this week over wages, health benefits and workplace safety.