Right before a huge slate of events in Las Vegas, casino workers are readying for a strike that could have a huge impact on Vegas casinos. Per a recent article, tens of thousands of Culinary Union and Bartenders Union members are ready to stop working next week if they don’t have a contract in place. The unions announced last Thursday that their new firm deadline for calling a strike at Las Vegas hotels and gaming properties is November 10th. As noted in the same report, some 35,000 Las Vegas hospitality workers have been working without a contract since September. Last month, 95% of the workers authorized a strike. The 18 properties at risk for a strike are run by MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts.
In this article, SBS will be going over what to look for from the latest gaming news coming from Las Vegas and also more notes about gaming in the area.
As noted in the article, these strikes present some significant logistical problems for the Las Vegas casino properties. The deadline is just a few days before the highly anticipated Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The race is scheduled to take place between Nov 16 and 19. The event is expected to attract about 100,000 visitors, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The negotiations for this strike have been ongoing since earlier this year, but of course, no resolution has been put together.
Negotiations between workers and management began in April, but no agreement has been reached as of this article’s writing. Among the unresolved issues are salary, job security, and worker safety and the unions want a five-year contract. The union represents housekeepers, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, as well as laundry and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada and is one of the state’s most powerful labor groups. Union members have said they are “striving to get this contract because it’s very important for the people who live in Las Vegas.”
According to an excerpt from Reuters, Ted Pappageorge, Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer said “economically, the companies have made some movement, but we are millions of dollars apart.” Pappageorge was also quoted in the LVRJ saying that it is time for these companies to sit down and negotiate. Moreover, he noted “if they’re not willing to do that, then we’re going to ask customers to take their money and spend elsewhere.” He said the union is prepared to strike and set up picket lines at numerous casinos.
This includes picket signs, portable bathrooms, tables, chairs, bullhorns, etc. Last month, some 75 Culinary Union members and officials were arrested after they blocked traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard. It was part of an effort to highlight their current labor dispute with casinos. Conversely, Caesars has recently revealed their “generous offers” to the labor unions. Last week, Caesars Entertainment CEO Thomas Reeg said during an earnings call that the company is “in dialogue constantly with the union.” Closed door meetings were expected to be held throughout last week. Reeg was recently quoted saying, “when we reach an agreement on the contract, it’s going to be the largest increase that our employees have seen in the four decades since we started interacting with the Culinary Union.”
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