Hospitality workers further increased the public pressure on resort employers Wednesday when about 75 Culinary Local 226 members were arrested for blocking traffic at the center of the Strip.
Hundreds participated in the pre-strike rally and “mass action civil disobedience” as negotiations between some of Las Vegas’ major employers — MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts — and the union over a new five-year contract were scheduled this week and next.
Shop stewards who help lead negotiations volunteered to sit in the street in front of the Bellagio and Paris Las Vegas, blocking traffic in both directions for about 15 minutes. They wore yellow armbands for officers to easily identify who would sit in the street, stopping traffic — and T-shirts declaring their impending arrest for the contract.
“For me, being arrested says I’m willing to do this,” Maria Espino, a casino porter at Caesars Palace, said over a DJ playing pop and dance music for the protesters. “This is my first time. Sometimes they say, ‘We don’t care about our employees.’ But I think they care about their employees and they’re gonna see this.”