Culinary Local 226 said it has struck deals with nearly all remaining hotel-casinos – and canceled a strike deadline for one – to avert a threatened strike Monday morning at several hotels near the Strip and downtown.
The latest tentative agreement was reached Sunday between the hotel union and Downtown Grand, which represents about 200 workers. All but one Strip and Near-Strip properties also have deals available. Culinary and affiliated bartenders Local 165 said Sunday they have decided to devote more time to Virgin Las Vegas, an off-Strip resort owned by JCH Hospitality.
Other deals closed Friday and Saturday include Dreamscape Cos. Rio, Boyd Gaming’s Main Street Station and Fremont, Binion’s and Four Queens owned by TLC Casino Enterprises and Golden Nugget owned by Tilman Fertitta.
Other deals made ahead of Friday’s original deadline include the Plaza, El Cortez, Circa, D Las Vegas and Golden Gate in downtown Vegas, as well as the Sahara on the Strip.
Restaurant officials said they secured a “historic” deal that would bring similar profits to last fall’s with the Strip’s three largest employers. These include higher wages and benefits, daily cleaning requirements, protection from job-replacing technologies, workforce safety measures, and more.
“This was a difficult negotiation and took over two years of preparation, 10 months of negotiations, a lot of hard work, committee meetings, sleepless nights and worker-led organizing,” Food Services Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said in a statement. “Culinary Union members make up a large portion of Nevada’s middle class, and in these negotiations we proudly won our fair share of record profits by securing historic protections and billions of dollars in pay raises for working families in Nevada.”
Other independently operated Strip properties reached tentative agreements with the union in the weeks leading up to the deadline, including Treasure Island, Circus Circus, Tropicana, Mirage, The Strat, Westgate and others.
Union members ratified a deal with MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts in November. The union threatened a strike several days before the Formula 1 race and put pressure on the operators to finalize the contract agreement.
The tentative agreements prevent a labor dispute before the region hosts Super Bowl 58 on Sunday.
Culinary negotiated a five-year citywide contract for its members after it expired last June. He represents housekeepers, waiters, bellmen, porters, bartenders, and kitchen and laundry workers throughout the valley.
McKenna Ross is a corps member at Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X
