Food and beverage workers at T.F. Green Airport are officially on strike.

 

The 73 employees walked off the job at 3 a.m. Thursday, after a deadline passed at midnight on Tuesday.

 

The union, UNITE HERE Local 26, failed to reach a contract with Grover Bay Concessions, a Florida-based company that operated concessions out of airports.

 

Workers say they have been working without a contract since Aug. 1 and have gone almost two years without a raise while the cost of living keeps climbing.

 

“We are on strike today because no one at T.F. Green should be making minimum wage,” Union Vice President Nancy Iadeluca said. “It’s the best airport in New England. The fastest growing in the country and everyone is flying high except the food and beverage workers who can’t pay their electric bills because we are dealing with minimum wage jobs.”

 

The strike comes as thousands of World Cup visitors make their way to and through Rhode Island for the matches in Foxboro.

 

See more at wpri.com.