T.F. Green concession workers walk off the job

Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport’s 73 food and beverage workers walked off the job Thursday amid stalled contract negotiations with the Florida-based company that operates the restaurants and stands in the Warwick terminal.

Concession workers organized under Unite Here! Local 26 began the one-day strike at 3 a.m., around the time the first shift would have reported in. Rather than clocking in, they spent the day marching and banging buckets as passengers streamed in and out of the airport.

About 98% of the bargaining unit at T.F. Green voted to authorize the strike on June 15. The picket by concession workers was scheduled to end by 7 p.m. but workers could strike again should contract negotiations remain at a halt.

“A strike is never the goal,” union vice president Nancy Iadeluca said Thursday in an interview with Rhode Island Current. “The goal is a contract, but it takes two.”

The union is demanding higher wages for its concession workers.

Workers have been without a new contract with Grove Bay since Aug.1, 2025, and have gone without raises for more than two years. Hosts and cashiers currently start at $16.50 an hour, a little more than Rhode Island’s minimum wage which is set to go to $17 at the start of 2027. Servers at the airport generally make around $4.19 to $5.30 an hour, plus tips.

“It’s an embarrassment,” Iadeluca said. “No one should be making minimum wage in that building.”

Alecia Rogers, a single mother who works as a server at the Narragansett Kitchen & Bar, said pay rates offered by Grove Bay are not enough to keep up with the ever-climbing cost of living.

“People are struggling economically,” she said. “The price of groceries is insane, the price of gas is insane. I don’t really feel any support from the company.”

Despite the low wages at T.F. Green, Rogers said she loves working at the airport and serving travelers.

“I’ve put a lot of effort into this job,” she said. “I want to be here. But I want to be respected, appreciated and compensated.”

José Rodriguez, who works as a cook primarily at Narragansett Kitchen & Bar, makes $24 an hour working from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. He was told he’d receive a dollar an hour raise each year when he joined the airport’s hospitality staff over a year ago, but said he hasn’t seen that money. Rodriguez said he and his colleagues are frustrated that Grove Bay hasn’t held up their side of the deal.

“That’s how a lot of these guys are,” Rodriguez said. “They lived up to their end, and all they want is you to live up to yours.” 

Francesco Balli, Grove Bay’s co-founder and CEO, said in an emailed statement to Rhode Island Current ahead of the strike that the company was disappointed over the union’s decision to walk out, but respected their right to do so.

“Our goal has always been to reach an agreement that supports our employees while ensuring the long-term sustainability of our company and the customers we serve,” he said.

Balli added that Grove Bay’s restaurants would continue operating to “ensure uninterrupted service.” 

He did not state how the company was maintaining staffing inside T.F. Green. Multiple workers and union officials said their understanding was the company flew in other workers from Florida who stayed in a nearby hotel to staff the restaurants and three Dunkin’ operations in the airport. 

“They don’t want to compensate us, but they’ll spend who knows how much for all that,” Rogers said.

Plenty of visitors

The striking workers made enough noise to draw fellow union leaders and some prominent Rhode Island politicians who took a break from their campaign schedules to voice their support.

Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, stopped by the airport around 4:45 a.m. where he called the workers “an inspiration to every single working-class Rhode Islander.”

Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos told the workers Thursday morning that she had spoken with elected officials and the airport corporation, but did not immediately detail what those conversations had yielded. Matos is one of seven candidates running for the lieutenant governor position she’s held since 2021. Two of her four Democratic challengers also visited the workers Tuesday, with Newport City Councilor Xay Khamsyvoravong and Providence City Councilor Sue AnderBois also showing their support. 

State Rep. David Morales, a Providence Democrat running for mayor of Rhode Island’s capital, also stopped by the airport to march alongside workers and give a short speech.

Even before picketing began, Warwick’s delegation in the Rhode Island Senate on June 18 issued a statement in support of the concession workers decision to strike.

“Like everyone, they deserve fair working conditions and compensation,” said Democratic Sens. Peter Appollonio, Matthew LaMountain, and Mark McKenney. “As the excitement over the World Cup has again demonstrated, the tourism and hospitality industry is extremely important for our state, and the workers who keep it running strong — including the airport’s food service workers — deserve to be treated fairly.”