A strike deadline set by the powerful culinary and bartenders unions in Las Vegas got the required results last week, when the Golden Gate casino became the last Downtown operation to agree to a new contract.
By mid-week, three of the nine unsettled casinos, Boyd Gaming’s Fremont and Main Street Station, the El Cortez, and the D Casino were ready to sign new five-year contracts. Officials at the Four Queens, Binion’s, the Plaza, and Las Vegas Club soon followed. Union spokeswoman Bethany Khan said there were 2,000 union employees at the nine Downtown casinos. Their contracts expired June 1, 2013.
The Golden Nugget casino downtown reached a five-year agreement with the unions last month, and the big casino companies on the Strip, including MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, settled earlier this year.
Restaurant workers, hotel housekeepers, cocktail servers, bartenders, and other union members planned to walk off the job at 5 a.m. Sunday if contracts were not reached.
According to Union Gaming, the outlook in Downtown Las Vegas is generally bright, despite the strike threat. “There is clear revival (new restaurants, bars, and housing) in Downtown Las Vegas,” Union reported, adding that the union dispute was “just a short-term headwind.”
