Bust! Las Vegas set to go on Strike!

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Jun 1, 2018 | 3 comments

If you’re planning on heading to Las Vegas anytime soon, pay attention. Tens of thousands, up to 50,000 workers in Las Vegas, are set to go on strike any time now.

This would be the first strike in over three decades as a contract affecting almost 50,000 workers expired last night at midnight. The Bellagio and MGM resorts are among the affected, so chances are you might be staying at one of their properties. They have reached a tentative deal with Caesar’s properties, potentially diverting a strike.

Caesar’s Palace Suite

The demands didn’t seem too out of line, but apparently they weren’t able to come to an agreement. Employees wanted a 4% increase over 5 years in wages, which resort operators objected to. Seriously, 4%?! The Culinary workers voted by a 99% majority to go ahead with the strike.

Culinary Union Votes To Authorize a Strike: Members of the Culinary Union voted to strike as soon as June 1. Around 25,000 of the 50,000 members voted with 99 percent voting to authorize a strike. – Eater Vegas https://t.co/vm1FaNNvW4

— The Culinary Union (@Culinary226) June 1, 2018

From NBC news:

MGM Resorts International said in a statement Thursday that “we are confident that we can resolve the outstanding contract issues and come to an agreement that works for all sides.”

Caesars Entertainment issued a similar statement saying that it “continues to meet with the Culinary Union to finalize a new 5-year contract,” and “we are confident that we will achieve a tentative agreement without a work stoppage.”

Labor negotiations are continuing, but if you’re heading to Las Vegas anytime in the next few weeks, be prepared for the worst. Something tells me that they will reach an agreement, because I can only imagine that this would cost the properties tens of millions of dollars every day that they decide to stand their ground.

Is your money on the casinos… or the workers?