MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Monday, November 20, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union to host ratification votes for the BEST CONTRACT EVER with MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts workers
Las Vegas, NV - After 7 months of intense negotiations and under the looming threat of the largest hospitality worker strike in U.S. history, the Culinary and Bartenders Unions have settled contracts for 40,000 unionized hospitality workers in Las Vegas. As Nevada’s largest union celebrates its 88-year-anniversary of fighting and winning for working families in Nevada, the Culinary Union is hosting ratification votes next week for MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts workers ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Contract ratification votes will take place over two sessions (10am-12pm and 6-8pm):
*Monday, November 20, 2023: Caesars Entertainment
*Tuesday, November 21, 2023: MGM Resorts
*Wednesday, November 22, 2023: Wynn Resorts
“These were tough negotiations and it took 7 months of hard work, committee meetings, sleepless nights, and worker-led organizing. Nothing was promised or guaranteed and thousands of workers who participated in rallies, protests, civil disobedience, picketing, surveys, picket sign making, strike vote, and delegations inside the properties sacrificed to win a better future for themselves and our families. Culinary Union members comprise a majority of Nevada’s middle-class and in these negotiations, we proudly won our fair share of record profits by securing billions for working families in Nevada,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “The total compensation won by the Culinary Union for MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts workers is approximately $2 billion over the total five year contract - that’s $2 billion which will stay in Las Vegas and will benefit every community and neighborhood. Every worker will be getting a 10% wage increase in the first year and a total of 32% over the life of the new contract. The average Culinary Union member earns about $28 an hour (including their benefits) under the previous contract, and by the end of this new five year contract, the average Culinary Union member will be earning about $37 an hour (including their benefits) and we recognize the largest private employers in Nevada for doing the right thing and investing in the frontline workers who make the entire industry run successfully.”
Active negotiations for 15,000 hospitality workers are on-going between the Culinary and Bartenders Unions and 24 Strip Independent and Downtown Las Vegas casino resorts for a new five year contract.
WHO & WHAT: Media availability with Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Negotiator, Ted Pappageorge and a few Culinary Union members during contract ratification votes.
WHEN & WHERE:
*Monday, November 20, 2023 at 11:00am Pacific: Caesars Entertainment contract ratification. RSVP for media avail here.
Chief negotiator, Ted Pappageorge will be going over in detail the Career Ladders, Safety, and Housekeeping contract language.
*Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 11:00am Pacific: MGM Resorts contract ratification. RSVP for media avail here.
Chief negotiator, Ted Pappageorge will be going over in detail the Technology, Recall, and No Strike contract language.
*Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 11:00am Pacific: Wynn Resorts contract ratification. RSVP for media avail here.
Chief negotiator, Ted Pappageorge will be going over in detail the Growth language and Economic Package that was won in this new five year contract.
Contract ratification votes will be taking place onsite at casino properties and each event is closed to media. Results of the ratification vote will be issued by the Culinary Union the evening of each day. Media avail recording and BROLL from voting sessions will be emailed out to media soon after AM voting sessions conclude.
WHY:
The Culinary Union has won the best contracts ever in its 88 year history.
In negotiations, the Culinary and Bartenders Unions have won historic wins for workers including:
*Winning the largest wage increases ever negotiated in the history of the Culinary Union.
*Reducing workload and steep housekeeping room quotas, daily room cleaning, and establishing the right for guest room attendants to securely work in set areas.
*Providing the best on-the-job safety protections for all classifications, including safety committees, expanding the use of safety buttons to more workers, penalties if safety buttons don’t work, enforcing mandatory room checks for employee and public safety, and tracking sexual harassment, assault, and criminal behavior by customers.
*Strengthening existing technology protections to guarantee advanced notification when new technology is introduced which would impact jobs, require training for new jobs created by technology, health care and severance pay for workers who are laid off because of new technology, the right to privacy from tracking technology introduced by companies, notice of third-party data sharing workers have generated through their work, and the right to bargain over technology that tracks the location of employees or messaging between workers.
*Extending recall rights so that workers have more job security and have the right to return to their jobs in the event of another pandemic or economic crisis for up to three-years.
*Making clear at MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment properties that the no-strike clause does not prevent the Culinary Union and its members from taking action, including picketing and leafleting in support of non-union restaurants at the Casinos; and allows non-union restaurant workers to leaflet in front of their venues inside the casino. At Wynn Resorts, making clear that the no-strike clause does not prevent the Culinary Union from taking action, including strikes, against non-union restaurants on the casino property, and gives casino workers the right to respect picket lines.
24 casino-resort companies are still under a contract extension and in active negotiations for a new 5-year union contract:
*Las Vegas Strip: Circus Circus, Four Seasons, Hilton Grand Vacations, Mirage, Rio, Sahara Las Vegas, Strat, Treasure Island, Tropicana, Trump Hotel Las Vegas, Virgin Hotels, Waldorf Astoria, and Westgate.
*Downtown Las Vegas: Binion’s, Circa, Downtown Grand, El Cortez, Four Queens, Fremont, Golden Gate, Golden Nugget, Main Street, The D Casino, and Plaza.
Citywide contract negotiations are led by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Negotiator Ted Pappageorge and President Diana Valles, and also Bartenders Union Secretary-Treasurer Terry Greenwald and President Lana Loebig.
The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 is the largest labor union in Nevada and alongside the Bartenders Union Local 165, represents 60,000 guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers statewide in the Battle Born State.
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 45% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latinx, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 88 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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