Unions in Las Vegas report provisional agreement with Caesars as strike looms
Unions representing hospitality workers in Las Vegas reached a tentative agreement Wednesday with one of the city’s three largest resort operators, two days before a strike deadline that loomed just as tourists arrive for a major international sporting event.
The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 announced the tentative agreement on a five-year contract with Caesars Entertainment, but did not provide details.
Caesars Entertainment did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two unions said last week that 35,000 members would walk out of their jobs on Friday at 18 hotels along The Strip owned by MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts, posing a major threat to the city’s economy.
Negotiations with MGM Resorts International and Wynn are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The contracts for housekeepers, bartenders, cooks and food servers at the three companies expired on September 15, after being extended from a June deadline.
Caesars properties in Las Vegas include Caesars Forum, Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, Paris, Planet Hollywood, The Cromwell and The Linq.
The local unions, affiliated with Unite Here, have been negotiating with the resorts since April over demands such as higher wages, greater safety protections and stronger recall rights, protections that prioritize the rehire of laid-off workers, such as those laid off during the pandemic lockdowns or economic downturn.
In September, the union approved a strike vote, with 95 percent support. More recently, workers have been stationed outside major hotels under palm trees in 80-degree heat with signs reading “One job should be enough,” referring to low wages.
During a series of ongoing strikes beginning in July, thousands of housekeepers, receptionists, and other hospitality workers at various Southern California hotels have been on strike at various times; in Michigan, workers at MGM Grand Detroit have been on strike since mid-October.
“No one wants to strike,” Ted Pappageorge, the head of Local 226, said at a news conference Tuesday. Mr. Pappageorge said striking deals with the big three chains — the largest in Nevada — was like “landing three planes at the same time.”
“We have three very large global companies,” he said, adding that cautiously optimistic agreements would be reached.
As Las Vegas prepared for the impact of a strike, crews began closing roads and erecting bleachers near The Strip, which will serve as a course for the attack. Grand Prix of Las Vegasa major international car race.
At the beginning of December the National Finals Rodeo is scheduled for two weeks.
For years, the Culinary Union, which represents 60,000 Nevada hospitality workers, has been a powerful political force, seen as a critical base for Democratic candidates in the state and nationally. In 2020, union members’ ground operation and door-knocking campaign helped Joseph R. Biden Jr. to a narrow victory in the state.
Ahead of his re-election campaign next year, President Biden trailed former President Donald J. Trump by 10 percentage points in the state in a recent New York Times/Siena College poll.
During a trip last month, Vice President Kamala Harris visited the culinary union’s headquarters and praised workers as the “true champions for working people.”