BOSTON (AP) — Striking Fenway Park vendors banged on drums and shouted “Don't buy food!” while walking a picket line outside the home of the Boston Red Sox before Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hundreds of Aramark workers marched along the street behind the team's right field concourse before the series opener, carrying round picket signs decorated with red baseball stitching. A giant inflatable rat shared the sidewalk with a statue of Red Sox greats Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky.
Click to Gallery
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Another group of picketers circled behind home plate after the first pitch as Local 26 of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island hotel, casino, airport and food services workers union went on strike at noon on Friday. It posted on social media that it is asking for “living wages, guardrails on technology and R-E-S-P-E-C-T!”
It's believed to be the first union walkout in the ballpark's 113-year-history.
“Respect the picket line," the union posted. “We know tix are expensive, we’re not asking you to stay away from the home games. But we ARE asking you to not buy concessions. No purchase of pretzels, pickles or peanuts inside the ballpark during the homestand.”
An Aramark spokesman said the company has bargained in good faith and is “disappointed the union rejected our latest offer and chose to call a strike.”
“We are committed to delivering an outstanding fan experience and have contingency plans in place to ensure fans will not encounter service interruptions,” the company said.
The Red Sox noted that the team was not involved in the negotiations but remained in contact with the concessionaire. Aramark made an offer as recently as Thursday night that was rejected by the union, the team said.
“Aramark has implemented its contingency staffing plans, and fans can expect a full and uninterrupted ballpark experience this weekend, including access to all food, beverage, and hospitality services throughout Fenway Park,” the team said. "We remain hopeful that the parties will reach a swift and fair resolution.”
A Red Sox spokeswoman said after Friday night's game, a full house of 36,369, that “ballpark concessions performed at the expected levels consistent with tonight’s sold out crowd.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders called on the team to support the vendors.
“Fenway Park is an iconic American institution, and it’s the workers there that make every Red Sox game special,” he posted on social media. “The team is extremely profitable. They should treat their employees with respect, pay them decent wages and negotiate a fair contract with the union.”
Maggie McCue, a beer vendor with 19 years of experience who is 24 weeks pregnant with twins, took a break from marching in the near-90 degree temperatures to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Her mother, also a beer vendor for almost two decades, said the team can afford for the workers to be paid a living wage.
“They have more money than they need,” Marianne McCue said. “We are Fenway. Fenway is us. Some people have been here 40-something years and they're not even backing us up. Shame on them. I never thought that at 70 years old I would be on strike, but here we are."
The Red Sox play three games against the Dodgers before leaving town again for a series beginning Monday night in Minneapolis against the Twins. It was a chance for Boston fans to welcome back ex-Red Sox star Mookie Betts, who was traded to Los Angeles in a cost-cutting move a year after winning the AL MVP.
Now, with Betts returning to town, the vendors are looking to get paid.
“It's come full circle,” Maggie McCue said. “Full circle.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Concession workers from Fenway Park picket outside the ballpark Friday, July 25, 2025, in Boston before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.
The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors. In 2020, for example, he threatened to use the act to quell protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, and in recent months he threatened to use it for immigration protests.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.
Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities asked for the assistance.
“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.
The operation grew when ICE, which is a DHS agency, sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area in early January.
Protesters gathered Thursday night at the federal building that is being used as a base for the crackdown, yelling “shame on you” at the officers guarding the facility.
Demonstrations have become common since Good was fatally shot Jan. 7, but this night's protest was slightly more subdued a day after the governor and mayor implored protesters to remain peaceful.
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in Los Angeles and Chicago and despite seeing initial success, have tended to fizzle in the face of appeal. In Chicago, for example, last year a judge ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to brief her nightly following a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who said agents used too much force during demonstrations. But three days later, an appeals court stopped the updates.
Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.
Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.
The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.
St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.
Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.
Madhani reported from Washington, and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Rebecca Santana in Washington and Ed White in Detroit contributed.
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester throws back a tear gas canister during a protest after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, second from left, blows a whistle with other activists to warn people of federal immigration officers Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A child and family are escorted away after federal law enforcement deployed tear gas in a neighborhood during protests on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester holds an umbrella as sparks fly from a flash bang deployed by law enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
