| Advertisement |
May 23 (UPI) -- Unions representing Las Vegas casino workers have voted to strike if a new contract isn't reached by the time it expires June 1, officials said. About 25,000 members of the Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 held two voting sessions Tuesday, and 99 percent voted to strike if they don't get a new five-year contract by the end of May.
Advertisement
The current and future contract covers 50,000 employees at dozens of casinos in Downtown Las Vegas and along the Strip.
Hospitality employees preparing for a citywide strike include bartenders, guest room attendants, cocktail servers, food servers, porters, bellhops, cooks and kitchen workers at 34 Las Vegas casinos.
The casinos that could be affected are operated by MGM Resorts, Caesars, Penn National, Golden Entertainment and Boyd Gaming.
The unions say they're negotiating a new deal to provide more security for workers, higher wages, protection from layoffs from new technologies, better workplace safety and protection for immigrants with temporary status.
Casinos still have at least a week to reach a new deal with the unions, and negotiations could also go beyond the June 1 deadline without a strike, officials said.
The last citywide strike occurred in 1984 and lasted 67 days. It affected 32 resorts and blew a $100 million hole in casino revenues -- or about $250 million in today's economy.
James Kraft, a professor who wrote a book on the 1984 strike, said it caused city and state budgets to lose millions in tourist-related taxes.
