Two planned Las Vegas strikes were averted thanks to last-minute successful negotiations. Both threatened to impact the many visitors attending Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII.
Over the weekend, the Culinary Union dropped its Monday morning threatened walkout by casino workers. That’s after union representatives agreed to a five-year tentative contract with Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino on Sunday night.
Almost 200 rank and file hospitality workers still have to ratify the deal.
Also, over the weekend, Golden Nugget Las Vegas Hotel & Casino reached a tentative contract with the Culinary Union.
Union negotiations will continue with Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, the last local property without a contract in place for its hospitality workers.
As negotiations continue to progress, the Culinary and Bartenders Unions have decided to give Virgin Hotel Las Vegas more time and we expect a resolution on a new contract in the coming weeks,” Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said in a weekend statement.
Historic Deals
Over recent months, the Culinary Union reached what it calls “historic” agreements with multiple other Las Vegas properties and casino companies.
These were tough negotiations, and it took over two years of preparation, 10 months of negotiations, lots of hard work, committee meetings, sleepless nights, and worker-led organizing,” Pappageorge recalled in the statement.
Last week, Culinary Union members and management at Fremont Hotel & Casino, the Rio Hotel & Casino, Main Street Station Casino, Brewery & Hotel, Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel, and the Four Queens Resort and Casino also reached tentative five-year contracts.
Also, last year Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, and Wynn Resorts averted a prior threatened Culinary Union strike in November just days before the well-attended Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix race.
Under the contracts with the three companies, every worker will receive a 10% wage increase in the first year of the deal. They will get 32% in salary increases over the life of the contract.
Recent settlements with other properties are believed to have similar stipulations. Other wins for workers include daily housekeeping, protections from automation, and improved safety.
The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and the Bartenders Union Local 165 have some 60K members. They include bartenders, bellmen, cocktail and food servers, cooks, guest room attendants, laundry and kitchen workers, and porters.
Transit Contract
Local bus drivers and bus mechanics had threatened to go out on strike before the Super Bowl, too.
Transdev, which operates the public bus service for the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada, and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1637, have been negotiating for months to reach an agreement.
The recent tentative deal still needs the approval of some 1,200 rank and file union members.
If RTC drivers had gone through with the strike, it could have led to chaos for many of the 330K visitors expected for the big game.
The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. Numerous related events will take place this week.
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