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OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
1:40 PM – Thursday, November 8, 2023
Unions that represent hospitality employees in Las Vegas reached a five-year tentative agreement with MGM Resorts International for a new deal that will affect about 25,000 workers.
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On Thursday, the Las Vegas hotel workers’ union came to a five-year tentative agreement with MGM Resorts International, the well-known employer on the Strip, which covers approximately 25,000 employees at the Aria, Bellagio, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, New York-New York, and Park MGM.
The tentative agreement comes less than 24 hours before a threatened strike was set to happen on November 10th that would have shut down the Strip. Las Vegas hospitality workers threatened to walk off the job in a strike against MGM Resorts International.
The Culinary Workers and Bartender Unions, which represent about 53,000 total workers based in Las Vegas had been discussing a strike for nearly seven months.
As a result, 95% of the union members voted in September to officially pursue a citywide strike.
The negotiations, which were initiated in April, were discussed further as several unions across industries requested employers to provide them with better pay and benefits.
The unions were demanding significant wage increases, money for healthcare and pension, along with less excessive housekeeping responsibilities.
“After seven months of negotiations, we are proud to say that this is the best contract and economic package we have ever won in our 88-year-history,” Ted Pappageorge, the union’s secretary-treasurer, stated. “Workers have secured significant raises every year for the next five years, preserving our great union health insurance, union pension, and comprehensive union benefits.”
Additional benefits are housekeeping workload reductions, advanced safety, and “the ability to have a say in how technology impacts our work.”
MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle made a statement regarding the company’s employees.
“Our employees are the heart of our company and the driving force in the success we’ve enjoyed in Las Vegas post-pandemic,” Hornbuckle said. “We’re pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that averts a strike, gives our Culinary Union employees a well-earned boost to pay and benefits and reduces workloads, all while continuing to provide opportunities for growth and advancement.”
Caesars Entertainment also made a statement regarding the agreement, saying that the company “recognizes the integral contributions our Team Members have made to the success we have seen in Las Vegas over the last few years” with “meaningful wage increases” and abilities for growth linked to plans to bring more union jobs to the Strip.
Additionally, several hospitality workers stated that they would strike for as long as necessary in order to receive beneficial contracts.
“I am willing to go on strike because I have a 10-year-old daughter who comes to negotiations with me, and she is going to inherit all of this,” said Tiffany Thomas, a guest room attendant at Mandalay Bay. “I refuse to sit back and watch what we’ve built crumble. I want my daughter to look at me and know I fought for a better future.”
“It’s taken a little too long in my opinion,” said Daniel Busby, a fry cook at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino operated by Caesars, before the agreement was official. “We are just asking to be able to live a little bit more comfortably.”
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