Worker Strike Averted at Las Vegas Casinos
Downtown Las Vegas casinos won't be hit by a worker strike after all, as union negotiators reached agreements with several properties hours before workers were set to walk off their jobs.
The culinary and bartender unions announced Sunday that they settled on a tentative five-year deal with the Golden Gate, after similar deals were made on Saturday with four other downtown casinos: Four Queens, Binion's, Plaza and Las Vegas Club, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Earlier agreements were made with The D, Golden Nugget, Fremont, Main Street Station and El Cortez casinos.
"We are pleased that we have settled new contracts with our major employers that will allow union members to have an opportunity to provide for their families through hard work under a fair contract," Geoconda Arguello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, said in a statement.
Scheduled to start at 5 a.m. Sunday had agreements not been reached, the strike would have affected hundreds of restaurant workers, cocktail servers, bartenders, hotel housekeepers and other casino employees.
Workers are expected to vote next week on accepting the new contract agreements, which, among other provisions, include raises, more flexible scheduling and limiting employee health care costs
Details about the new settlements have not been disclosed, but if the contracts are ratified, their changes would be retroactive to June 1, 2013 when previous union contracts expired.
The new contracts would expire June 1, 2018.
The latest settlements conclude the culinary and bartenders unions' year-long citywide contract negotiations for their combined 44,000 members.
Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 represent more than 55,000 workers in both Las Vegas as well as Reno.
Some of the bigger casino operators on the Las Vegas Strip, including MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, Tropicana, Riviera, Treasure Island and Stratosphere, already have new five-year deals with the unions in place.
The last hotel worker strike in Las Vegas took place back in 2002 at the Golden Nugget and lasted nine days.
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