Caesars Entertainment has reached an agreement with the Culinary Workers Union, avoiding one of the largest hospitality strikes the US has ever seen.
Following the union’s decision to schedule a strike for November 10, Caesars’ deal, that followed “20 straight hours of negotiations”, will ensure that the 10,000 hospitality workers across its nine Las Vegas locations will not take part in Friday’s proposed walk out.
While MGM Resorts is reportedly close to an agreement with the union to avoid strike action at their locations, Caesars has found a deal to meet the union’s demands for the largest wage increase in union history, a reduction in workload and housekeeping room quotas, the implementation of “best on-the-job safety protections” and the extension of recall rights.
Last week, Caesars Entertainment CEO Thomas Reeg suggested that finding a deal would lead to “the largest increase that our employees have seen in the four decades since we started interacting with the Culinary Union.”
Having now reached that agreement with Caesars, the CWU stated: “After 20 straight hours of negotiations, Culinary Union is pleased to announce a Tentative Agreement towards a new five-year contract has been reached with Caesars Entertainment for approx 10,000 hospitality workers at nine Las Vegas properties.”
While the exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the finalised contract agreement comes after seven months of negotiations that have witnessed the union picket on the Vegas Strip and conduct a vote on whether to take strike action with its 60,000 union members, resulting in a huge majority.
As aforementioned, MGM Resorts is reportedly still in negotiations with the union, with time quickly running out for the company to avoid strike action set to take place tomorrow.
Suggesting that a deal is close, MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle told investors yesterday: “We’re literally in session as we speak. I believe we will come to a deal today. We know from listening to our employees that they’re looking for a pay increase that combats inflation, as well as reduced workloads, among other concerns.
“This deal, when announced, will do just that and will result in the largest pay increase in the history of our negotiations with the Culinary Union.”
