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Vol. 82/No. 21 May 28, 2018
—ON THE PICKET LINE—
Culinary Workers Union Local 226
Workers at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, celebrate union-organizing
victory. At end of April, 84 percent of the 614 workers voted to be
represented by UNITE HERE’s Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders
Union Local 165. Contracts at 34 hotels covering 50,000 workers expire
in Las Vegas June 1 and workers are preparing for possible strike action.
This column gives a voice to those engaged in labor battles and building
solidarity today — from school workers in West Virginia, Oklahoma,
Arizona and Colorado, to retail and factory workers looking to stand up
and fight. Send in articles, photos and letters on picket lines and
other labor protests to themilitant@xxxxxxx or mail them to: 306 W. 37th
St., 13th floor, New York, NY 10018; or call us at (212) 244-4899.
Thousands of Las Vegas casino workers set strike vote May 22
The over 50,000 members of UNITE HERE’s Culinary and Bartenders unions
will vote May 22 on whether or not to authorize a strike once their
contract expires June 1. The two unions include bartenders, guest room
attendants, cocktail servers, food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks and
kitchen workers.
“You either show up and fight for what you deserve, or you give up and
take whatever the company gives you,” Geoconda Argüello-Kline,
secretary-treasurer of Culinary Workers Union Local 226, said in a May 9
news release. The contract covers 34 casino resorts and hotels in Las
Vegas.
“Workplace safety is one of the main issues, along with wage increases
and retaining health care benefits,” Bethany Khan, spokesperson for
Local 226, told the Militant in a phone interview May 14.
The union is pushing for measures to protect workers from sexual
harassment. “We’ve heard stories of women cocktail servers facing
harassment and the company not doing anything,” Kahn said. “We’re
demanding safety buttons for workers on the floor and to make sure the
radio and Wi-Fi work in the towers where guest room attendants work.”
Also of concern are the bosses’ plans to replace some workers with
robots. “Robotic bartenders, concierges, room service are all in the
pipeline,” Khan said.
The Culinary Union says it is the state’s largest immigrant
organization. Some 54 percent of the union’s members are Latino and 55
percent are women. The union has participated in May Day and other
protests to demand, “No deportations.”
A 1984 citywide strike by the union lasted 67 days.
— Brian Williams
Related articles:
Teacher victory in Pueblo is victory for all workers
Colorado win spurs teachers’ fight in N. Carolina
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