It’s not just pumpkin spice, ripening apples, and cool, crisp vibes, folks. That’s right, striking is in the air, and hospitality workers in Las Vegas join the long list of U.S. workers who are sick of putting up with the bullshit. Members of the Nevada Culinary Workers Union and Bartenders Union will vote on Tuesday to determine whether or not 53,000 hospitality workers, who are mostly employed on the Las Vegas strip, will strike.
American workers on strike for liveable working and compensation conditions against corporations who are making explosive profits has been a real #mood for 2023. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have been the big labor news of the summer, perhaps largely because of all the famous hotties they brought to the picket lines. But now, as the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have announced a tentative deal, other labor unions across the nation, like the United Auto Workers who began striking on September 1, are announcing that they are ramping up their efforts.
Las Vegas hospitality workers have been in negotiations for better pay and conditions for several months without making “substantial progress,” according to Ted Pappageorge, who is the secretary-treasurer and chief negotiator of the Culinary Union. He told the Las Vegas Sun that he’s confident the strike authorization vote on Tuesday will pass, but that doesn’t mean he or the other workers want to get as far as actually striking.
So, what do these hospitality workers want? It seems like they want to be able to survive on the pay from one full-time job where they can feel safe. They have been at the negotiating table as well as appearing en masse in red t-shirts, exercising their right to protest peacefully. One chef on TikTok posted a clip of the culinary crowd protesting last week with the text reading, “7 days until the culinary and bartenders union strike authorization vote!! One job should be enough period. Are you ready?”
Eileen Scott, a cocktail server on the Las Vegas Strip, told the Sun that she loves her job, but can no longer make ends meet. She has two jobs now and is considering another. “I know the company is making a record profit right now, and we’re cut out of it — even though we are the face of the hotel,” Scott said. “We greet the customers, we do everything to make sure they come back, and we’re just being overlooked. And I don’t think that’s fair at all. We just want our fair share.”
(featured image: Onfokus/Getty Images)
