Las Vegas Casino Strike Averted After Wynn Resorts Settles with Union

Posted on: November 10, 2023, 07:24h. 

Last updated on: November 10, 2023, 10:59h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Wynn Resorts became the last casino company to reach a deal with Las Vegas hospitality workers this week, after both sides agreed to a tentative contract early Friday.

The new deal averts a threatened strike just three hours before union members planned to walk off the job.

Details on the new contract weren’t immediately available, but it lasts for five years and covers more than 5K workers at two Las Vegas Wynn Resorts properties, the Wynn and Encore.

The Culinary Union also revealed it includes “the largest wage increases ever negotiated.”

There are also “workload reductions for guest room attendants, mandated daily room cleaning, increased safety protections for workers, expanded technology contract language, extended recall rights, and the right for unionized workers to support nonunion restaurant workers seeking to unionize by respecting their picket lines,” the Culinary Union said in a statement.

After seven months of negotiations, we are proud to say that this is the best contract and economic package we have ever won … in our 88-year history,” Ted Pappageorge, Culinary Union secretary-treasurer, said in a statement on Friday.

“Workers have secured significant raises every year for the next five years, preserved our great union health insurance, union pension, and comprehensive union benefits, while gaining historic improvements in housekeeping workload reductions, substantial improvements for workers regarding safety at work, the ability to have a say in how technology impacts our work, and ensuring the union and members can support nonunion hospitality workers who seek to join our union.”

Unified Front

In a show of unity, both sides praised the agreement and each other in a statement.

We applaud Wynn Resorts for agreeing to a great union contract … Wynn Resorts has long been a tremendous partner and we are proud to see that workers will enjoy in the success they have helped build,” the union said.

“We strongly believe that only the most talented and empowered employees, working in an environment in which they feel valued and well compensated, can deliver our signature Wynn and Encore guest experiences,” Michael Weaver, a Wynn spokesperson, added.

“We are very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which fulfills our shared goal of providing outstanding benefits and overall compensation to our employees in a work environment that is second to none. Wynn has historically enjoyed a relationship with Unite Here that is based on mutual respect and a shared interest in doing the best we can for those most important to us – our employees. This year has been no exception.”

Hospitality workers at Wynn Resorts, as well as those at Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, will need to ratify the new contracts before they go into effect.

Earlier this week, the Culinary Union reached tentative agreements with Caesars and MGM.

Some 35K Las Vegas hospitality workers have been working without a contract since September. About 95% of the workers previously authorized a strike.

If union members went out on strike, it could have impacted the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which begins on November 16 and concludes on November 18. The event is expected to bring more than 100K visitors to Las Vegas.

Detroit Strike Continues

Across the country, 3,700 workers have been on strike since October 17 at three Detroit gaming properties, including Hollywood Casino at Greektown, MGM Grand Detroit, and MotorCity Casino Hotel.