Strength of unions in Las Vegas hotels is the sheer number of employees in the hospitality industry. With thousands of workers employed in hotels and casinos, unions have been able to leverage their collective power to negotiate better wages, benefits, and working conditions.
MGM Resorts International, Wynn and Caesars Entertainment reached a tentative five-year contract agreement with Culinary Workers Union Local 226 early last month covering more than 25,400 non-gaming workers at eight Strip properties. The contract also includes members of Bartenders Union Local 165, a Culinary affiliate.
In a joint statement from the union and MGM, the agreement reportedly includes “the largest wage increases ever negotiated in Culinary Union’s 88-year history,” along with workload reductions for guest room attendants, mandated daily room cleaning, increased safety protections for workers on the job and expanded technology contract language.
A date for workers to ratify the contract was not determined. The deal means MGM Resorts and the Culinary Union avoided a strike that was planned for the Friday prior to the City’s hosting of the Las Vegas Formula One auto race. The contract covers employees at Aria, Bellagio, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, New York-New York and Park MGM.
The Las Vegas Culinary Union said the agreement was reached after nearly 20 straight hours of negotiations. “Workers have secured significant raises every year for the next five years, preserved our great union health insurance, union pension, and comprehensive union benefits,” Culinary Secretary – Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said.
MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said that employees were given a “well-earned boost” to pay and benefits. “Our employees are the heart of our company and the driving force in the success we’ve enjoyed in Las Vegas post-pandemic. We’re pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that averts a strike,” he continued.
Under their new 5-year contracts with Caesars, MGM, and Wynn resorts, non-tipped workers at the largest gaming companies will earn over $9 an hour more over the course of the new deals compared to what they make now. The largest pay bump occurs the first year, with pay retroactively dated to when the current deals expired. For MGM and Caesars, that occurred on June 1 this year. For Wynn Resorts, it was August. Non-tipped workers will receive about a $3 raise per hour and tipped employees about $1.50. Union leadership said the difference in wage increases between the three companies was a matter of cents.
Since the contracts expired for Caesars and MGM earlier in the year, the retroactive back pay will be provided as a lump sum early in the new year, culinary leadership said. For those employees, they can expect $3100 for non-tipped workers in retro pay and about $1500 for tipped. Since contracts for Wynn Resorts expired later, those back pay totals will be less.
“At the end of the day, that package–when you look at the overall economic package–is nearing 30% for five years, which is off the charts,” added Pappageorge. “And anybody would be happy in the past with three, three-and-a-half percent. That’s generally considered a great contract. We’re really proud of this economic package. Our folks really needed it, this community really needed it. And we’re really proud of Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Wynn Resorts stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing for this
community.”
The Culinary Union has been in contract negotiations with Caesars, MGM and Wynn Resorts, the three largest employers on the Strip with 18 properties that cover 38,000 non-gaming union workers, since April. The agreements expired at the end of May and were extended until September, when the union voted on a strike authorization vote that was overwhelmingly approved.
