As The Mirage prepares to close by mid-July, retire its famous volcano and begin a three-year transformation into the Hard Rock casino — complete with a 700-foot guitar-shaped hotel tower — the resort’s nearly 3,400 employees will be forced to look for new jobs.
That includes people such as Kimberly Ireland, a single mother of four and member of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, who said that during her employment as a bell dispatcher with The Mirage she had developed several long-term friendships with colleagues.
“For me, a lot of people I consider my Mirage family will be missed,” she said. “Even though I knew that this day would come, when it actually came, it was a moment of, ‘This is it.’”
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The Hard Rock expects to pay out $80 million in severance to the laid-off workers. Late last year, the Culinary Union negotiated to ensure workers who lose their job because of the casino’s transformation have the option to choose between receiving a $2,000 bonus for each year of service at The Mirage and six months of pay and health benefits, or a lesser amount while maintaining seniority rights for the duration of the property’s closure.
Maintaining seniority rights allows employees to be called back to work when the Hard Rock reopens and keep their status, which is important for employment benefits such as choosing their preferred shift.
Unionized workers who choose to retain their recall rights will have access to free job training and first access to available job openings when the property reopens.
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Additionally, the Culinary Union will host multiple Rapid Response events for employees of The Mirage.
Ireland said The Mirage, along with the Culinary Union, have helped provide her with stable living circumstances.
“Even though the closing of The Mirage hotel is happening, I still have certain language and protections [in our contract] that will allow me to be able to take care of myself financially,” she said.