After months of tense negotiations, all three of the biggest operators on the Las Vegas Strip—MGM Resorts, Wynn Resorts and Caesars Entertainment—have now reached tentative agreements with the Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 unions, averting the first citywide strike in over 30 years.
The three agreements cover approximately 40,000 workers across 18 total properties from the three companies, and each will still need to be ratified by union members, but no vote date has been set as of writing.
These new five-year deals are expected to set benchmarks for future discussions with other operators in the near future, but union officials have not said when those discussions will start.
Caesars was the first of the three to announce a new deal in the early morning on November 8, and the new agreement will encompass some 10,000 non-gaming employees across nine Caesars-owned properties, including Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Horseshoe Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, the Cromwell, the Linq and the Caesars Forum Convention Center.
Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge, who has been at the center of negotiations since the original deals expired in April, said in a statement that the deal included wage increases for each of the five years, as well as worker protections and daily room cleaning provisions, which became a heated topic of debate this summer, when Governor Joe Lombardo repealed Covid-era legislation that mandated daily room sanitation.
Additionally, the deal also includes “the right for unionized workers to support non-union restaurant workers seeking to unionize through picketing, leafleting, and other actions,” according to a Culinary statement.
“Our Team Members are the heart and soul of who we are as a company, and it was paramount that we negotiate a contract that allows them to participate in the success they helped generate,” Caesars CEO Tom Reeg said in a statement.
“This agreement is one that puts all of us in a position to move forward to greater success, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the foundation of partnership we built with D. Taylor and the local leadership of Ted Pappageorge, Diana Valles, Terry Greenwald, and Lana Loebig, along with their dedicated teams. We are grateful for their thoughtful dialogue, open conversation and commitment to finding a solution that strengthens the world-class hospitality at Caesars Entertainment and Las Vegas.”
MGM was the next operator to reach a deal, which was announced in the early hours of November 9 with similar language and details.
The MGM deal covers more than 25,000 workers across eight resorts: Bellagio, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Park MGM, Aria, Excalibur and New York-New York.
“Our employees are the heart of our company and the driving force in the success we’ve enjoyed in Las Vegas post-pandemic,” MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said in a statement. “We’re pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that averts a strike, gives our Culinary Union employees a well-earned boost to pay and benefits and reduces workloads – all while continuing to provide opportunities for growth and advancement.”
Last but not least, Wynn Resorts completed the trifecta as the last of the “Big 3” to strike a deal, which came early November 10, mere hours before the strike was set to begin.
The Wynn deal, also with similar language to the other two, covers 5,000 employees at Encore and Wynn Las Vegas.
“We strongly believe that only the most talented and empowered employees, working in an environment in which they feel valued and well compensated, can deliver our signature Wynn and Encore guest experiences,” Michael Weaver, spokesperson for Wynn Las Vegas, said in a statement. “Therefore, we are very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with Culinary Workers Union Local 226 which fulfills our shared goal of providing outstanding benefits and overall compensation to our employees in a work environment that is second to none.
“Wynn has historically enjoyed a relationship with Unite Here that is based on mutual respect and a shared interest in doing the best we can for those most important to us – our employees. This year has been no exception. We look forward to ratification of our agreement soon, and to providing the legendary service for which our employees are known to the thousands of race fans about join us.”
With deals now in place, the city and its workers can start preparing for the laundry list of high-profile events set to take place in Las Vegas in the coming months, including next week’s inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament in December and the Super Bowl in early February.
