LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The majority of Las Vegas casino/hotel operations have reached a tentative five-year contract agreement with union workers.
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 announced via Twitter about 11:15 p.m. Saturday that it had reached agreement with MGM Resorts after a full day of negotiations.
The deal covers about 24,000 workers at MGM's 10 casino on the Las Vegas Strip. No contract details have been made public.
News 3 has reached out to MGM for comment about the agreement, but has yet to hear back.
Earlier in the week, union officials announced they had reached a tentative deal with Las Vegas Caesars Entertainment Corp. to cover 12,000 workers.
Boyd Gaming and some smaller operators have yet to reach a contact with the union. The union says about 14,000 members work at the six Strip and 10 downtown hotels still without a contract after the previous one expired at midnight May 31.
Union members voted on May 22 to authorize union leaders to call a strike so that remains a possibility for the remaining 14,000 workers, but probably not likely given the major operators have reached a tentative agreement. Any strike would be the first one in more than 30 years.
The new five-year contract with Caesars Entertainment includes Bally’s, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Cromwell, The LINQ, Caesars Palace (including Nobu) and the Rio.
Details of the contracts have been withheld out of respect for workers who have not yet had the opportunity to get the full details of their new contract and vote to accept, according to a joint news release by the union and Caesars.,
A ratification vote by the membership will be scheduled very soon and more details will be announced after ratification.
Caesars and the union stated, the historic new agreement includes groundbreaking language on worker security regarding sexual harassment, workload, technology and immigration."
“This innovative contract sets clear goals regarding technology and automation for worker retention, job training, advance notice of implementation and severance package,” said Geoconda Argüello-Kline, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Union. “The Culinary Union has fought hard to protect workers over our 83 years and this new agreement is the best contract with the highest wage increases that workers have ever had.”
“I feel great because I can retire with dignity, my healthcare is protected, and now workers have a say in how technology is used in the workplace,” said Leain Vashon, a bell captain at Paris and vice president for the Culinary Union. “I stand in solidarity with my Strip and Downtown brothers and sisters as they fight to get a contract. I’ll be supporting them in every way possible so that they can have the same middle-class standard we’ve fought for.”
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent more than 57,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 270,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
Union members -- who work as guest room attendants, bartenders, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and kitchen workers -- come from 173 countries and speak over 40 different languages.
Caesars Entertainment calls itself the world's most diversified casino-entertainment provider and the most geographically diverse U.S. casino-entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, in 1937, Caesars Entertainment has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions and its portfolio of subsidiaries now operate 47 casinos in 13 U.S. states and five countries.
To see a list of the contract status of each hotel, go here.