Summary:
- Employees are preparing to strike Friday if a new contract is not agreed upon.
- Culinary Local 226 will meet with casinos again this week.
- Picket lines are coming to Las Vegas Boulevard.
The Culinary Local 226 is still waiting for an updated five-year contract with major casinos in Las Vegas.
Since the contract has yet to be agreed upon and it’s been months in the making, we could see employees go on strike as soon as Friday. Hospitality employees are prepping to strike this week if an agreement is not signed by 5 a.m. on Friday.
Bargaining Sessions Scheduled This Week
The Culinary Local 226 will meet with Caesars Entertainment today, MGM Resorts International tomorrow, and Wynn Resorts on Thursday. The members of the union, which is around 53,000 individuals, will prepare for picket lines to take place on Las Vegas Boulevard as the meetings take place.
Hospitality employees of 18 properties in Las Vegas are ready to strike if a new contract is not signed. MGM, Caesars, and Wynn are the three largest employers on the Strip and are responsible for around 35,000 union members.
Only one casino would be exempt from the walkout. The Cosmopolitan was taken over by MGM in 2022, so it does not require a new contract.
The Issues at Hand
So, what are the employees asking for that is taking casinos so long to agree to? First, the employees want larger wages and are bargaining for the largest increase in payment ever. Some progress has been made in this regard, but not enough to end the discussion.
Employees also want to see lower housekeeping quotas and go back to a pandemic policy where rooms are cleaned daily. Guest room employees are being overworked since they are cleaning rooms at checkout and are dirtiest at that point, which takes longer to clean.
The union is also requesting technology protections so that advance notifications are provided when new technology would impact employees’ jobs. The workers want enough advanced time to find a new job.
All of the major points have yet to be addressed, and if the casinos do not act quickly, it will result in a strike. A Culinary Union strike would affect the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix, starting just six days after the deadline. The Formula One race is set to bring big business to the area, with over 100,000 spectators daily.
Will the pending event be enough to push the casinos to action? Or perhaps the actual strike deadline will move the operators to compromise with union members? A decision needs to made soon, or employees will walk out and make operations difficult for the top-earning casinos in Las Vegas.
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