This week, union workers at Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts, and Caesars Entertainment have greenlit new labor agreements. Attention now shifts to 24 other Las Vegas properties, with the Culinary Union focusing on future negotiations.

Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge has expressed concern over the possible failure of negotiations to resolve unsatisfactory agreements. This could lead to a strike, he warned during an interview with Las Vegas TV station KTNV.

“I think we’re going to have some tough negotiations with these properties,” Pappageorge was quoted by Las Vegas TV station KTNV.

Pappageorge is pushing for the same economic agreements reached by large companies for other Las Vegas Strip properties and downtown venues. He wants to ensure wage increases and satisfactory agreements for some 10,000 hospitality employees.

Wynn Resort Vote

Wynn employees overwhelmingly voted in favor of the tentative agreement by a 99% margin. The five-year deal includes $3 per hour salary increases for non-tip workers, reported KTNV, while tipped workers will receive around half of that.

“We got the best raise ever,” Samson Edea, a Wynn food service employee, told KTNV.

The deal will impact around 5,000 unionized Wynn employees. Labor agreements at Wynn, MGM, and Caesars are expected to result in a 10% salary increase in the first year and a cumulative 32% increase over the five-year contract for hospitality workers.

Housekeepers, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, as well as laundry and kitchen workers at these properties, are covered under the new contracts.

The Culinary Union representatives worked with management over months of meetings to reach these agreements. A last-minute settlement avoided a November 10 strike threat.

Salary Increases

“The average Culinary Union member earns about $28 an hour (including their benefits) under the previous contract, and by the end of this new five-year contract, the average Culinary Union member will be earning about $37 an hour (including their benefits),” said Pappageorge in a statement.

“The total compensation won by the Culinary Union for MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Resorts workers is approximately $2 billion over the total five-year contract.”

Elsewhere, workers at Hollywood Casino at Greektown and MotorCity Casino in Detroit have recently voted to ratify a five-year contract, while MGM Grand Casino workers remain on strike.