Caesars Entertainment and the giant Las Vegas hospitality union reached a tentative agreement Wednesday on a new contract, one major step toward avoiding a massive strike that could cripple the city’s hotels and casinos.
The Culinary Workers Union, which represents more than 60,000 workers across Sin City’s tourist industry, approved a strike beginning at 5 a.m. Friday. Despite the Caesars deal, the strike threat still looms.
The union is negotiating with three companies that control more than 50% of the Las Vegas Strip: Caesars, MGM and Wynn. Talks with MGM are scheduled for Wednesday and Wynn is on deck for Thursday.
Wednesday morning’s agreement covers 10,000 employees at Caesars casinos along the Strip, including Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, Cromwell and Linq. It could provide the framework to avoid the potentially devastating strike. Las Vegas is expecting thousands of visitors next week as the city hosts its first Formula 1 race since 1984.
The Caesars deal still must be approved by the union’s rank-and-file members. It was reached after 20 consecutive hours of negotiations through Tuesday into early Wednesday, according to a statement from the union.
“We are confident that our [union employees] will see this agreement as a demonstration of our commitment to their success and as a solid platform from which to deliver the extraordinary service and experiences our guests have come to expect,” Caesars said in a statement.
Details of the agreement were not released publicly. As union spokeswoman Bethany Khan said, “We do not negotiate in public.” If approved, the new contract will run for five years, the union said.
Culinary members voted in September to authorize a strike, shortly after their previous five-year contract expired. The strike vote was followed by demonstrations on the Strip, including one in October where workers blocked traffic and 58 people were arrested.
With News Wire Services
