Unionized employees at Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts, and Caesars Entertainment approved new labor agreements this week. Next, the Culinary Union turns its attention to 24 other Las Vegas properties.

If future negotiations fail to produce a satisfactory agreement for some 10K employees at the two dozen other hotel casinos, a strike is possible, Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge warned.

I think we’re going to have some tough negotiations with these properties,” Pappageorge was quoted by Las Vegas TV station KTNV.

Pappageorge wants to see the same economic package that was reached for the three large companies to be applied to contracts for other properties on the Las Vegas Strip.

With regard to Las Vegas downtown properties, the union is advocating for the same wage increases. Downtown properties traditionally have paid less to workers than hotels and casinos on the Strip.

Wynn Vote

On Wednesday, unionized employees at Wynn overwhelmingly voted for the tentative agreement by a 99% margin.

The five-year deal provides $3 per hour salary increases for workers who don’t get tips, according to KTNV. Workers who get tips will receive about half of that salary boost, KTNV reported.

We got the best raise ever,” Samson Edea, a Wynn food service employee, told KTNV.

The new contract will govern some 5K unionized Wynn workers.

The agreements for Wynn, MGM, and Caesars will lead to a 10% salary increase for hospitality workers in the first year of the agreement, according to the Culinary Union. They will earn a cumulative 32% increase over the contract.

The deal includes housekeepers, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, as well as laundry and kitchen workers at the properties.

The approved contracts were initially agreed to by representatives from the Culinary Union after months of meetings with management. A threatened November 10 strike was avoided by last-minute settlements.

Salary Increases

The average Culinary Union member earns about $28 an hour (including their benefits) under the previous contract, and by the end of this new five-year contract, the average Culinary Union member will be earning about $37 an hour (including their benefits),” Pappageorge said in a statement.

“The total compensation won by the Culinary Union for MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts workers is approximately $2 billion over the total five-year contract.”

Across the country in Detroit, workers at Hollywood Casino at Greektown and MotorCity Casino recently voted to ratify a five-year contract settling a strike. Workers at MGM Grand Casino remain on strike.

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