Posts tagged Las Vegas
Las Vegas Hospitality Workers Prepared to Strike in February
January 17, 2024 // While the unions reached a five-year agreement with Caesars Entertainment Inc., MGM Resorts International, and Wynn Las Vegas in November 2023, there are still hospitality workers without new contracts for Las Vegas properties including Circus Circus Hotel & Casino, SAHARA Las Vegas, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino. Those without contracts are hoping to get similar deals as those who reached agreements last November, which included a 32% pay increase and a reduction in workload.
VP Harris congratulates Culinary on contracts, touts importance of organized labor
January 10, 2024 // The Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno and help keep the Silver State’s casinos running. The union, majority female and Latino, is also a political powerhouse that mobilizes its members to vote. It historically delivered Democratic victories in the battleground state through door knocking and get-out-the-vote drives. U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., who had led the Culinary Training Academy, credited the union Wednesday with electing him to Congress.
UAW President Shawn Fain plans to keep automakers sweating
January 1, 2024 // "I don't like what I've seen in my work career with the UAW leadership, where they were too damn close to the companies," UAW President Shawn Fain told CNN earlier this month. But when asked if things work better for his members when there's a less contentious or more contentious relationship between the UAW and the Big Three, Fain responded, "We just negotiated the most successful contracts in our history," he said. "For the last 30 years that I've been a member, we went backwards. So I like to let the body of work speak for itself," Fain said. The success of those contracts is the reason that Shawn Fain is CNN Business' labor leader of the year.
Vegas-to-LA rail project lands $3B in federal funds
December 6, 2023 // “This historic high-speed rail project will be a game changer for Nevada’s tourism economy and transportation,” Rosen said in a statement. “It’ll bring more visitors to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, create thousands of good paying jobs, and decrease carbon emissions, all while relying on local union labor.”
Las Vegas hotel and casino workers reach tentative deals to avoid strike
November 13, 2023 // erms of the deals weren't immediately released, but the union says that the proposed five-year contracts will provide workers with historic wage increases, reduced workloads and other unprecedented wins — including mandated daily room cleanings. Before the pandemic, daily room cleanings were routine. Hotel guests could expect fresh bedsheets and new towels by dinnertime if a "Do Not Disturb" sign wasn't hanging on their hotel room doors. But as social distancing became commonplace in 2020, hotels began to cut back on the service. More than three years later, the once industry-wide standard has yet to make a full comeback. Some companies say it's because there are environmental benefits to offering fewer room cleanings, like saving water.
From Hollywood to auto work, organized labor is flexing its muscles. Where do unions stand today?
November 9, 2023 // There are also limits for organizers under current labor law. That means that what worked in auto workers' labor campaign, for example, may not look the same or be possible in other industries. Larger, more established unions typically have more bargaining power — and that's reflected in new contract wins seen today. “We have a labor law that was designed in the era in the 30s and 40s, when auto plants of 10,000 workers (were organizing)," he said. Starbucks is “split into these small coffee shops of 15 workers. ... They need to join together to have any kind of bargaining power against a big employer. But our labor law isn’t structured to help them do that,” Colvin said. Service jobs can also be hard to organize due to part-time work and high turnover rates. The same can be said for Amazon warehouses, where there have been pushes for unions.
Las Vegas hotel workers union, MGM agree to tentative contract after deal with Caesars
November 9, 2023 // The Culinary Workers Union announced the tentative 5-year agreement Thursday that it said covers about 25,000 workers at the Aria, Bellagio, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, New York-New York and Park MGM. The union said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the agreement followed nearly 20 hours of negotiating. MGM didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The union had threatened to begin a strike in the pre-dawn hours Friday at properties along the Strip if negotiations failed. Experts said that move would have been catastrophic for the Las Vegas Strip.
Thousands of Las Vegas Strip hotel workers at 18 casinos could go on strike
November 7, 2023 // In Las Vegas, the 18 properties that could be impacted by a strike are Aria, Bellagio, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, New York-New York, Park MGM, Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, The Cromwell, The Linq, and Wynn and Encore Resorts. The union’s deadline comes after yet another unsuccessful round of negotiations with the three casino companies. A spokesperson for Wynn Resorts declined to comment. Caesars and MGM Resorts did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Unions’ power ebbs and flows
November 6, 2023 // Unionization efforts have expanded but many are taking place where there is little history of organized labor, creating a higher bar for workers. Colvin points to Starbucks workers who have seen union drives clipped in the last year. Starbucks has been accused of chilling organization by closing unionized stores and firing pro-union workers. There are also limits for organizers under current labor law. That means that what worked in the auto workers' labor campaign, for example, may not be possible for other industries.
Pit building workers for Las Vegas Grand Prix will have right to decide whether to unionize
November 2, 2023 // In a statement from the Culinary Union, the group said that the card-check neutrality agreement “will guarantee workers at the pit building have the right to organize and, if they decide to unionize, negotiate a union contract.” “The Culinary Union, Las Vegas Grand Prix, Inc. and Liberty Media have reached a card-check neutrality agreement which will guarantee workers at the pit building have the right to organize and, if they decide to unionize, negotiate a union contract – which will guarantee these will be great union jobs and meet our high Las Vegas standards that the Culinary Union has built in 88 years,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union.