Day 40: Encore Boston Harbor Strike Continues as Wynn Claims Contract Offer Is Fair

The worker strike at Encore Boston Harbor has now run 40 days, with approximately 1,300 union members employed by the Wynn Resorts property continuing to walk the picket line. Union workers at Encore Boston Harbor walk the picket line on Oct. 12, 2026. Wynn Resorts says it’s offered a fair contract to Unite Here Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25. (Image: Unite Here Local 26) Leaders of Unite Here Local 26 and Teamsters 25 say they continue to fight for a “fair contract” from the Las Vegas-based casino company. The union members work in a variety of roles at the $2.4 billion, five-star luxury destination, including housekeepers, servers, cooks, bartenders, slot attendants, and warehouse personnel. The unions want $10 per hour pay increases over four years and guarantees that existing health care and pension benefits will be preserved for all union employees. Unite Here and Teamsters also demand that starting pay for any union worker begin at $25 an hour. Calling their ask the “Boston Standard,” a reference to wages elsewhere in the Massachusetts capital region, the unions aren’t budging from their ask. Nor is Wynn, as the two sides have reportedly met face-to-face fewer than a handful of times since the strike began on Sept. 4. Wynn Stands Ground Officials with Wynn Resorts say union workers at Encore Boston Harbor already make an average of $96,000 in pay and benefits, a figure the unions dispute. Wynn says that by further raising wages, union jobs at the Encore property would be put at risk. Speaking with Casino.org, a senior Wynn Resorts official rejected the unions’ claims that they’re simply seeking the “Boston Standard.” The company executive said Encore Boston Harbor has offered an “economic bucket” that would allow the unions to decide how to allocate the funds, whether it is for wages, health care, pensions, training, childcare, housing, or other union benefits. Wynn is reportedly seeking to agree on the size of the funds with the union and let leaders decide “how to slice it.” The resort claims to have already made a “substantive” offer that remains on the table. The unions have the support of numerous local governments, including the Boston City Council and Everett City Council. But despite the unions asking the public not to cross their picket line, many consumers continue to patronize Encore Boston Harbor. How badly the strike is impacting Encore Boston Harbor will become known when the Massachusetts Gaming Commission releases its September 2026 casino revenue report next week. In September 2025, Encore Boston Harbor generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of more than $59.1 million from the property’s slot machines and table games. Longest Casino Strike Forty days is a long time for the 1,300 workers at Encore Boston Harbor to be off the job, but the casino strike is nowhere near the longest in US history. The longest strike involving a casino began in 1991 at the Frontier Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 struck over the resort’s demands for concessions and refusal to bargain over a new contract. The strike lasted more than six years, making it one of the longest strikes in US history, not just in the gaming industry. It ended in early 1998 after the property changed hands and the new owner settled with the unions. The strike solidified the Culinary Union’s reputation and influence in Las Vegas. The post Day 40: Encore Boston Harbor Strike Continues as Wynn Claims Contract Offer Is Fair appeared first on Casino.org.