Union members overwhelmingly voted last month to authorize a strike on properties operated by MGM Resorts, Caesars and Wynn.
However, the Culinary has not set a strike date covering some 38,000 non-gaming workers, which would disrupt operations along the Strip. Gaming analysts said they expect some sort of deal — with double-digit wage increases over the course of a five-year contract period — to be reached before Las Vegas is in the international spotlight for the mid-November Formula One race, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of high-spending visitors to Las Vegas.
James Franklin, a food and beverage worker at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, said he has sat in for contract negotiations and the hotel companies “just say no” and that “the only way the needle gets moved is through demonstrations like this.”
“We're eager to have a contract. More eager than the companies,” Franklin said. “The companies forget who mops the floors. They forget who makes the drinks. We're here to remind them that's what we do. And they can't operate without us.”