Las Vegas Culinary Union Authorizes Strike Action

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The Las Vegas Culinary Union has officially voted on whether to authorize a strike and the results are in. The union, which consists of around 50 000 casino workers, held a vote earlier this week on whether the strike would be authorized. Out of the voting members, 99% voted to allow the strike to go ahead if all further negotiations fail. The union and Las Vegas now have until the 1st of June to come up with a new deal.

Culinary Union votes to allow strike

The Las Vegas Culinary Union has voted to authorize a strike, should the union and the casinos not reach a deal.

Culinary Union Votes to Strike

If a deal is not made, the Culinary Union will be allowed to go on strike anytime after the 1st of June. If this happens, it could cripple the city. The 50 000 union members work for 34 strip and downtown casino properties. The union workers hold positions that include chefs, bartenders, housekeepers, bellmen, and wait staff. It easy to see how devastating a strike could be for Sin City.

Out of the 50 000 members, roughly half of them were able to cast their vote earlier this week. Now that the union leaders have a 99% vote in favour of the strike, they can instruct members to stop working at any point once current contracts expire. The contracts come to an end at midnight on the 31st of May. However, the union has said that it wants to avoid this and it is a last resort.

Strike Still Unlikely According to Some

Many still believe that the odds of the strike actually taking place are rather low. Having said that, the threat of such a strike cannot be downplayed. The union is asking for its workers to receive increased wages, protection for the current benefits, and improved protection against sexual harassment at the workplace. The Culinary Union is saying that due t the tax cuts that President Donald Trump gave to the casinos; it’s only fair that the employees receive some of the benefits.

The last time a strike took place in Las Vegas was back in 1984. Thousands of workers were involved, and it lasted a total of 67 days. That strike cost the city $250 million, in today’s money, but there were far fewer casinos and hotels. A strike today would be far costlier, costing up to $45 million per day, by some estimates.

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