Airport food workers strike for higher pay in Rhode Island

Seventy-three food and beverage workers at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport walked off the job at 3 a.m. on June 25, pressing Grove Bay Hospitality Group for a new contract with higher pay. The one-day strike put a labor dispute squarely inside one of Rhode Island’s busiest travel hubs, where airport cafes, bars and counters depend on fast turnover and a steady stream of passengers.

The workers are represented by UNITE HERE Local 26, and nearly 98% of the bargaining unit voted on June 15 to authorize a strike. Their contract expired Aug. 1, 2025, and workers have gone more than two years without raises. Union leaders set a June 22 deadline for a deal, then moved ahead as summer travel picked up and World Cup traffic was expected to increase through the region.

Pay is at the center of the fight. Hosts and cashiers at the airport were making about $16.50 an hour, while servers were earning roughly $4.19 to $5.30 an hour plus tips. Rhode Island’s minimum wage is $16 an hour as of Jan. 1, 2026, and it is scheduled to rise to $17 on Jan. 1, 2027. That puts many airport service jobs right on top of the wage floor, even as rent, groceries and utilities keep climbing.

New England food prices rose 3.8% over the year ending in May 2026, and energy prices jumped 26.2%, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. A living-wage estimate for a single adult in Rhode Island put the hourly need at $25.01.

Grove Bay said it had offered wage increases of roughly 28% to 36% depending on position and that the airport restaurants would remain open. Union representatives said the company had flown in temporary workers from Florida rather than settle the contract dispute.

Workers there won raises in a separate contract with the airport corporation in 2025.