Las Vegas hospitality workers could go on strike as union holds authorization vote
Tens of thousands of hospitality workers in Las Vegas are set to vote on whether to authorize a strike that could disrupt dozens of resorts
LAS VEGAS — Tens of thousands of hospitality workers who keep the iconic casinos and hotels of Las Vegas humming were set to vote Tuesday on whether to authorize a strike amid ongoing contract negotiations.
There's been increased labor organizing in recent years across multiple industries — from strikes to work stoppages — and Tuesday's vote will take place on the same day President Joe Biden joined United Auto Workers strikers on a picket line in Michigan.
The Culinary Workers Union, a political powerhouse in Nevada, hasn't gone on strike in more than three decades. Results of the vote are expected to be released Tuesday night after a second round of votes are cast in the evening. Some 53,000 housekeepers, cocktail and food servers, porters, cooks and bartenders in Las Vegas are taking part.
The union is seeking better pay, benefits and working conditions as it bargains with the top employers on the Las Vegas Strip, including MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment. A walkout could impact more than three dozen casinos and hotels on the Strip and in downtown, the city's economic backbone.
«Companies are generating record profits and we demand that workers aren’t left behind and have a fair share of that success,” Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the union, previously said in a statement. He emphasized that the union is negotiating “to ensure that one job is enough.”
MGM Resorts said it would comment on the union’s vote later Tuesday after the results were released. Caesars did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
It’s been a big year for
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