Culinary Union Finalizing New Contracts for Casino Workers as Super Bowl Nears

UPDATE: On Sunday morning, the Culinary Union informed media they had secured a new contract for the 1,200 workers at the Golden Nugget, and Sunday night they locked down a deal for 200 workers at the Downtown Grand. That leaves only a few hundred people unaccounted for at the Virgin hotel and casino just off the Strip. It was good enough for the union to call off the strike, which was supposed to begin at 5 am Monday.

"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," a Culinary Union spokesperson said.

The sun was setting on Friday when the Culinary Union in Las Vegas announced their latest victory – a new five-year contract for some 670 hospitality workers at the Rio.

Earlier in the day they came to an agreement for 200 workers at El Cortez and 650 at Sahara.  

Friday, at 5 am, was supposed to be a strike deadline for six hotel and casino properties. But the union told members to hold off and stay at work – they were getting close – and after their shifts should report for picket duty.

Super Bowl Timing

You gotta hand it to the Culinary Union for their timing. They used the inaugural F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix to secure favorable 5-year contracts for nearly 53,000 casino workers at the three largest employers on the Strip. 

And over the past week they’re been leveraging the city’s first ever Super Bowl to lock up deals for the few thousand workers who hadn’t yet come to terms with independent casinos.

As of Thursday (top), there were workers at 13 casino properties without suitable contracts. By Saturday morningn (bottom), the union had whittled the list down to their final three. (Images: Culinary Workers Union #226)

Striking on a Semi-bluff?

The Culinary Union has been sending its media list daily updates, providing a dues-justifying tally that shows the work they’re doing. These emails also reveal a willingness to move strike deadlines back before anyone really walks off the job. 

I call it a semi-bluff because most have known all along there’s no real intention to strike. But the union’s negotiating power comes from showing they could. Since October, union members have been displaying strength in numbers-and-spectacle, and it seems to be working with casino employers. 

On Saturday morning, the union added two more downtown casinos to their win column – Fremont and Main Street Station – and 500 more workers with job security for the next half-decade.

The Culinary union called for 36 hours of continuous picketing downtown in their effort to lock down deals before the Super Bowl. (Images: Culinary Workers Union #226)

The people who serve you at casinos in Las Vegas – guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers – continue to finalize deals through their union.

The mantra the union is pushing out is that they are “winning the BEST CONTRACT EVER!” (Emphasis theirs.)

Bottom line is that casino customers can come to Las Vegas and know that the casino workers here are fairly compensated and making a decent living.

(Now don’t forget to tip!)