Culinary Workers Union sets Las Vegas strike deadline for Nov. 10

The Culinary Workers Union set its negotiation deadline for Nov. 10 should it not reach an agreement with resorts in Las Vegas.

MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts met for negotiations with the union this week and last week, but the union has voted to strike if workers don’t receive a 4% raise and protections from technology in their new contract. The resulting contract would last five years and has been in discussion since April.

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Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said these resorts are still “millions of dollars apart” from the union’s propositions during a press conference on Thursday. Pappageorge said that should the strike begin at 5:00 a.m. Pacific time on the deadline, it would be the largest hospitality strike in history.

One example of the current wage comes from MGM Mandalay Bay, which pays its unionized fountain workers $3.76 an hour more than a nonunion employee, while its union cooks earn as much as $6.32 an hour more than a nonunion cook.

The union represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada, 53,000 of whom are based in Las Vegas, and 35,000 are employed by any one of the three employers currently in negotiations. It is considered the largest union in the state, and these employers have about 18 locations that hire unionized guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and laundry and kitchen workers.

A strike could bring business in the city to a halt, as some 38.8 million visitors came in 2022, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. This was a 20.5% increase from the year before. The average hotel capacity throughout the year was 79%. As Thanksgiving approaches, more travelers could be expected for the holiday.

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Some 75 members were arrested during a civil disobedience stint last week. Those who were arrested donned shirts that read: “I’m getting arrested to win the best contract ever.”

Another two dozen unionized workers are in negotiations with other resorts that are under a contract extension.