Culinary Union Holds Informational Picket at Strat, Sahara Casinos

Posted on: January 19, 2024, 06:23h. 

Last updated on: January 19, 2024, 06:23h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Members of the Las Vegas-based Culinary Union are to hold a demonstration at Las Vegas’ Strat and Sahara gaming properties on Friday evening.

The public display comes as negotiations continue between hospitality workers and management at the two casinos.

Strike Threat

If the two sides don’t agree to a tentative contract by February 2, union members have threatened to go out on strike at the two properties.

They are among some 7K hospitality workers at 19 casinos/hotels who are currently without labor agreements.

The union members work at properties on the Las Vegas Strip and in downtown Las Vegas. The union wants them to get a new five-year contract with competitive salary hikes.

Additional informational pickets are scheduled in coming days for other Las Vegas properties.

We’ve been working hard since last year to win historic contracts with the three biggest companies along with Mirage, Tropicana, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas, and Trump Hotel Las Vegas, but we aren’t done yet,” Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, said in a recent statement.

“Corporations are making record profits and workers deserve to have record contracts,” he added.

Representatives of the Strat and Sahara have been quiet about their likely offers at the bargaining table.

Prior Union Deals

In November, Culinary Union members reached agreements with management at three large casino companies: Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and MGM Resorts International. A planned strike was averted.

The agreements for Wynn, MGM, and Caesars will lead to a 10% salary increase for hospitality workers in the first year of the agreement, according to the Culinary Union. They will earn a cumulative 32% increase over the contract.

Other non-economic victories were won by workers in these agreements, including on job security.

Workers at the other Strip Independents and Downtown deserve the same wage increases, benefit protections, safety and technology language, and reductions in workloads as the rest of the Strip, and they are organized and ready to fight for it,” Pappageorge said.

He says the union leadership and rank and file members want to avoid a strike. But they will call for a work stoppage if needed.

“We made hospitality jobs in Las Vegas family-sustaining jobs with decades of sacrifice and strength, and we will continue to win what we deserve — a great union job with fair wages, job security, and the best health care benefits so that workers can continue to provide for their families,” he added.

The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and the Bartenders Union Local 165 represent some 60K bartenders, bellmen, cocktail servers, cooks, food servers, guest room attendants, kitchen workers, laundry staff, and porters.