No Strip strike in 2023 as Culinary announces agreement with Wynn

With a couple hours to spare, a strike on the Las Vegas Strip was averted this year as Culinary Workers Local 226 announced a tentative contract agreement with Wynn Resorts.

The agreement follows new contract agreements Culinary announced for Caesars Entertainment on Wednesday and MGM Resorts International on Thursday. Wynn was the last of the major resort companies where five-year contracts were up and being negotiated.

The Culinary had set a strike deadline of 5 a.m Friday. The union announced the agreement with Wynn at 2. a.m.

The Culinary said details of the contract agreements won’t be disclosed until members ratify the contracts in coming days.

But in a statement announcing the Wynn agreement, Culinary claimed victory with respect to several demands it has been articulating throughout contract negotiations. This year’s round of negotiations have won “the the largest wage increases ever negotiated in Culinary Union’s 88 year history, workload reductions for guest room attendants, mandated daily room cleaning, increased safety protections for workers on-the-job, expanded technology contract language, extended recall rights, and the right for unionized workers to support non-union restaurant workers seeking to unionize by respecting their picket lines.”

The three settlement agreements follow several weeks of public pressure via rallies, demonstrations, and media outreach by the Culinary, as well as a vote by members authorizing a strike if contracts agreements were not reached.

“We’ve been very patient with these companies,” Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said during a press event last week in which the union set its Nov. 10 deadline. “We think companies are doing well and we want them to share the wealth.”