FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2014
Media contact:
bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ @Bethany Khan ▪ (702) 387-7088
Unions Reach Tentative Agreement with El Cortez
LAS VEGAS, NV – The Culinary and Bartenders Unions’ negotiating committee reached a tentative agreement with El Cortez Hotel & Casino, less than a week before workers were scheduled to go on strike this Sunday. The new 5-year contract is retroactive to June 1, 2013, when the last contract expired. This settlement follows the Golden Nugget, Fremont, and Main Street Station deals. With the tentative agreement, the El Cortez is no longer on the list of casinos facing a strike on June 1.
“We congratulate the workers at El Cortez on reaching a good contract settlement with the company,” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union. “Workers are the backbone of Downtown Las Vegas and they deserve the opportunity to provide for their families through hard work under a fair contract.”
“I was ready to strike to get a new contract,” said Linda Hunt, a food server at the El Cortez. “But now that I know that my job security, healthcare, and wages are protected, I will be on the picket line supporting everyone else on June 1.”
“I’m glad to hear some of my downtown brothers and sisters have achieved new contracts,” said Ron Gladstone, a kitchen steward at The D Hotel & Casino. “I hope that The D will be able to come to an agreement with us very soon. But if we have to, we will go on strike on June 1.”
At 5 a.m. on June 1, restaurant workers, hotel housekeepers, cocktail servers, bartenders, and other members of the unions at unsettled casinos will walk off their jobs and start 24/7 picketing of The D, Four Queens, Binion’s, Plaza, Las Vegas Club, and Golden Gate unless fair agreements are reached. As of release date, there are nearly 1,200 union workers without a contract in Downtown Las Vegas.
Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent over 55,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 270,000 hospitality workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
www.CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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