Culinary Union warns of Feb. 2 strike for 7,700 workers across 21 Vegas properties

Culinary Workers Local 226, after securing wage increases and mandated daily room cleanings at major resort properties last year, has issued a warning of a potential strike. The union, negotiating new contracts at 21 Strip and Downtown properties, including Sahara, Westgate, Trump Hotel Las Vegas, The D, Circa, and Treasure Island, set a strike deadline of Friday, February 2, 2024, coinciding with the week leading up to the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The union said if negotiations breakdown ahead of the strike deadline, it may call for strike sooner at individual properties.

As per the unions, contracts for remaining unsettled properties expired June 1, 2023 and all contract extensions have been terminated. Terms and conditions of an expired collective bargaining agreement largely remain in effect, including wages, benefits, and job security protections, but the no-strike provisions are no longer in effect which allows workers to go on strike anytime.

“If an agreement for a new contract is not reached by Friday, February 2, 2024 at 5:00am then negotiations would cease, labor demonstrations will begin outside of casino properties, and strikes would be called,” the union said in a statement.

The Culinary Workers are advocating for a 32% wage increase over five years, mirroring the agreement reached with major Strip resorts. Their demands also include a reduction in housekeeping quotas, mandated daily room cleaning, and enhanced protections against job-replacing technology. Negotiations are scheduled to commence on Tuesday, starting with the Strat and Hilton Grand Vacations, and will continue through January 18, concluding with the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.

The upcoming negotiation schedule is as follows: On January 9, discussions will be held with Hilton Grand Vacations and Strat; on January 10, Circus Circus will be in focus; January 11 will see negotiations with Sahara; January 12 will involve The D, Circa, Golden Gate, Treasure Island, and Waldorf; January 16 will be dedicated to Westgate; January 17 will feature talks with Trump Hotel Las Vegas, and the negotiations will conclude on January 18 with the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.



"Workers at the Strip Independents and Downtown deserve the same wage increases, benefit protections, safety and technology language, and reductions in workloads as the rest of the Strip and they are organized and ready to fight for it. No one wants to strike, but workers are serious and will strike if they have to and the Culinary Union has their back every step of the way,” Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union, said.

In November, members ratified deals with MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts after threatening to strike several days before the Formula One race, putting pressure on operators to finalize the contract agreement.

Culinary officials have called the new contracts historic for their significant wage increases, guaranteed lowered workloads, technology protections, and career support. Each full-time, non-tipped employee at those companies will get roughly $3-an-hour raise in the first year, and tipped workers will get a raise of roughly $1.50 hourly, leaders previously said.

According to Pappageorge, the terms include a 10% wage increase in the first year and a cumulative 32% raise throughout the contract's duration, resulting in an average wage of $37 per hour. The total compensation for employees across the three companies is projected to reach $2 billion over the next five years.

This potential strike occurs against the backdrop of significant labor movements in 2023, including actions by the United Auto Workers and the Screen Actors Guild, both seeking improved labor agreements. Concurrently, around the same time as Culinary's strike warning, 3,700 Detroit casino workers represented by the Detroit Casino Council, a UNITE HERE local, went on strike for 47 days. A ratified deal in December concluded the strike, prompting a visit from Vice President Kamala Harris to Las Vegas last week to commend the union on its victory.