In Las Vegas, hospitality workers have decisively voted in favor of authorizing a potential strike against major resorts located on the Strip.
This move is seen as a significant development as the city, facing economic challenges, prepares for upcoming major sporting events.
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Members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, collectively representing 60,000 workers across Nevada, participated in the authorization vote on Tuesday.
As reported by union officials, an overwhelming 95 percent of those who voted supported the strike authorization.
It’s important to note that while this vote is a strong and decisive move, it does not automatically lead to a strike. Instead, it signifies workers’ readiness to strike if necessary while negotiations continue for new contract agreements with major resorts.
Contracts for approximately 40,000 employees, including housekeepers, bartenders, cooks, and food servers at MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts, had expired on September 15th after being extended from a previous June deadline.
Other workers are also operating on extended contracts that could be terminated at any time.
Local unions affiliated with UNITE HERE have been engaged in negotiations with the resorts since April, putting forth demands that encompass higher wages, enhanced safety measures, and improved recall rights to provide workers with increased job security during times of pandemics or economic crises.
(Union officials have noted that there are approximately 20 percent fewer hospitality workers in the city than before the COVID-19 pandemic.)
Ted Pappageorge, the head of Local 226, emphasized, “No one ever wants to go on strike. But working-class individuals and families have been left behind, especially since the pandemic.”
MGM Resorts expressed optimism that a mutually beneficial agreement could be reached, stating, “We continue to have productive meetings with the union and believe both parties are committed to negotiating a contract that is good for everyone.”
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On the other hand, Wynn Resorts and Caesars Entertainment opted not to comment on the vote, and negotiations are set to continue next week between the union and these companies.
This contract dispute arises in the context of Nevada, a state heavily reliant on tourism, slowly recovering from the economic impact of the pandemic compared to other regions.
The state has pinned its hopes on significant sporting events, including the arrival of Formula 1 in November with the Las Vegas Grand Prix, expected to attract hundreds of thousands of tourists, and hosting the Super Bowl a few months later.
The strike authorization vote aligns with major labor disputes unfolding nationwide. Thousands of United Automobile Workers union members have been on strike against the three major Detroit automakers for nearly two weeks.
While the Writers Guild of America recently reached a tentative agreement with major Hollywood studios following a lengthy walkout, contract negotiations with tens of thousands of striking actors are currently at an impasse.
In Southern California, thousands of hotel workers affiliated with UNITE HERE Local 11 have staged temporary strikes over several months.
The Culinary Union, a crucial Democratic base in Nevada, a swing state, previously held a similar strike authorization vote in 2018 among 25,000 workers, ultimately reaching a contract agreement with major hotels before a strike took place.
The months of fruitless negotiations have been exasperating for workers like Chelsea MacDougall, a gourmet food server at Wynn Las Vegas.
Voting to authorize a walkout, she emphasized, “This is our next show of force to companies. The workers deserve a living wage.”
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