The Strat Reaches Tentative Contract With 700-Plus Workers

Posted on: January 24, 2024, 08:28h. 

Last updated on: January 24, 2024, 11:38h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

The Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower is the latest Las Vegas resort to reach an agreement with the Culinary Union.

Union representatives accepted an offer from management on Tuesday night. It still needs to be ratified by more than 700 rank-and-file union members who work at the property.

The new five-year contract will provide salary increases for hospitality workers. Details have yet to be released to the public.

One of the employees governed by the tentative agreement, Adalila Vargas, a cashier at the Strat, said in a union statement, “I am so excited for my family, my coworkers … I’m so proud to be a union member.”

Negotiations Continue

In November, Culinary Union members reached agreements with management at three large casino companies: Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and MGM Resorts International, averting a threatened strike. In recent weeks, contracts were achieved at some other properties, such as the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.

With this latest deal, the Culinary Union still has 17 remaining properties for which union leaders need to negotiate a contract.

These are smaller and independently owned properties on the Las Vegas Strip or downtown Las Vegas. The union has already begun informational picketing at several Las Vegas casinos.

Among the properties yet to reach a tentative agreement with the union are Circus Circus, Hilton Grand Vacations, Rio, Sahara Las Vegas, Treasure Island, Virgin Hotels, Binion’s, Circa, Downtown Grand, El Cortez, Four Queens, Fremont, Golden Gate, Golden Nugget, Main Street, The D, and the Plaza.

The union also has threatened to call a strike at 5 a.m. on February 2 for those properties that have yet to agree to a settlement.

Super Bowl Revenue at Risk

The threatened strike is scheduled to occur just days before the Super Bowl and could interfere with a likely moneymaker for hotels and casinos in Las Vegas. The iconic pro football game will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, February 11.

Many events are scheduled to take place in Las Vegas during the week before the game. Events will kick off with Super Bowl Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium on February 5.

“The visitor that comes to a Super Bowl tends to be a higher-spending visitor than our typical visitor, for sure,” Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) President and CEO Steve Hill recently told Forbes.

Even in past years, when the Super Bowl was played outside of Las Vegas, many visitors came to the city for the occasion.

Many of the visitors in town for Super Bowl LVIII will place some action on the big game, according to a recent Casino.org report.