Boston — Hourly workers at Fenway Park who are employed through Aramark had their petition answered by the Red Sox on Friday afternoon.

The Red Sox announced they'd increase their pool of money to help hourly workers from $1 million to $1.5 million and will now include Aramark employees who work at Fenway.

"The Aramark family is a central part of ours (at Fenway Park and JetBlue Park), and we are glad that these individuals will now benefit from this aid," team president Sam Kennedy wrote in an email to the Aramark employees.

Originally, the $1 million was allocated only for the 1,300 seasonal and part-time workers who are employed directly through the Red Sox.

But on Thursday, the Local 26 union, which covers about 1,000 Fenway Park workers who are employed through Aramark, began a petition asking the Red Sox to offer their support to third-party employees as well. As of Friday, the petition had over 2,000 signatures.

Friday afternoon, the Sox announced the change to their funding.

"This pandemic is teaching us many vital lessons," Kennedy wrote. "Perhaps none more critical than the importance of supporting one another. We care deeply about all of you and appreciate the commitment and support you have provided and will continue to provide to this organization and our fans."

It remains unclear if the Red Sox will find a way to help the seven Aramark employees who were scheduled to lose their health insurance due to not accumulating enough working hours during MLB's postponement.

Thursday, John Ferolito, who is entering his 14th season working at Fenway Park via Aramark, said he was concerned for those seven employees, and others who felt left behind by the Sox' original pledge.

"It's scary," he said. "The unknown is the worst part. It would be nice to see the little guy get some respect for once. Get a little help. Not get looked the other way or walked on. Now is the time to help the people who help the Red Sox.

"When there's a rainout Tuesday afternoon, two days later we learn it's rescheduled for a Thursday afternoon. Those people re-schedule their day jobs to work a doubleheader. It's the little things. We're doing stuff for you guys at the drop of a hat. Where are you when we need you?"

The Sox informed Aramark employees and the Local 26 union on Friday afternoon of the news to include them in the coverage.

Kennedy wrote in the email to Aramark folks that the Sox are still exploring other ways to help those specifically affected by MLB's postponement and the coronavirus.

"We will be in touch with specifics on eligibility once those details are finalized," he wrote. "We recognize that this funding in no way fully mitigates the impact of what you are experiencing, but we hope that it will provide some measure of help and relief during this challenging period."