A 5 a.m. strike deadline was set by Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and its affiliated Bartenders Union Local 165 on Jan. 8 for any property that didn’t reach a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract. 

The strike date coincides with the nine-month anniversary of when the previous agreements expired. It would also take place on the weekend before Las Vegas begins to host festivities surrounding Super Bowl LVIII.

“There needs to be a deadline,” Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge told The Nevada Independent.

Setting a strike date came nearly three months after the unions and the “big three” Strip companies — MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Las Vegas — agreed to new five-year contracts in November that included 32 percent salary increases.

The contracts also included workload reductions for guest room attendants, the reinstatement of daily hotel room cleanings, increased safety protections for workers on the job and language covering the expanding use of technology and artificial intelligence and how workers can be retrained or receive financial benefits if their jobs are replaced.

At the time of the Jan. 8 announcement, 21 properties on the Strip and downtown Las Vegas covering about 7,700 hospitality workers were still in contract negotiations. After the announcement, the unions reached a tentative agreement with the non-gaming Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas, part of the CityCenter complex. 

That left 20 properties — nine on the Strip and 11 downtown — without contracts covering roughly 7,400 workers as of Jan. 17.

This story will be regularly updated with all contract settlements leading up to the Feb. 2 strike deadline.

As of Jan. 18, the properties without contracts on the Strip were Circus Circus and Treasure Island (owned by Phil Ruffin); STRAT (Golden Entertainment); Rio Casino Resort (Dreamscape Cos.); Saraha (Alex Meruelo); Westgate (Westgate Resorts); non-gaming timeshare Hilton Grand Vacations (Hilton Corp.) and Virgin Hotels Las Vegas (JCH Hospitality).

Downtown casinos without contracts are Circa, D Las Vegas and Golden Gate (owned by Derek Stevens); Main Street Station and Fremont (Boyd Gaming); Binion’s and Four Queens (TLC Casino Enterprises); Golden Nugget (Tilman Fertitta); Plaza (Tamares Group); El Cortez (Exber Inc.) and downtown Grand (CIM Group and Fifth Street Gaming).

The unions have scheduled informational picket lines between 5 and 7 p.m. Friday in front of the STRAT and Sahara.  

Last updated: Jan. 18, 2024

Trump Las Vegas agreement reached

The Culinary said it reached a tentative settlement Jan. 18 with the non-gaming Trump Las Vegas Hotel that covers 350 hospitality workers. The agreement followed 16 hours of negotiations. 

The 1,282-room complex, a mix of hotel, condominium and timeshare units, is on the Strip, behind the former Frontier Hotel site and across from the Fashion Show Mall.

The agreement left 19 properties — eight on the Strip and 11 downtown — covering more than 7,000 workers without new agreements.