Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Unions reach deal with Golden Gate, averting strike

Golden Gate Renovation Reveal

The newly renovated entrance to Golden Gate on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2012, in downtown Las Vegas.

Union workers and the Golden Gate reached a contract deal in the final hours today, avoiding a strike and concluding yearlong negotiations.

Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 negotiating committees reached a tentative agreement with the Golden Gate for a five-year contract with the company, union spokeswoman Bethany Khan said in a press release.

The deal concludes the citywide contract negotiations for 44,000 housekeepers, cooks, food servers and other hospitality employees at casinos on the Strip and downtown. The workers’ contracts expired on June 1, 2013.

“We are pleased that we have settled new contracts with our major employers that will allow union members to have an opportunity to provide for their families through hard work under a fair contract,” Geoconda Arguello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, said in a press release. “We will make sure that other casino workers in Las Vegas who aspire to the same union standard of living will be able to join our union family soon."

Workers will vote next week to ratify the tentative agreements with the D, Four Queens, Binion’s, Fremont, Main Street Station, Plaza, Las Vegas Club, El Cortez and Golden Gate casinos.

The new deal protects their health benefits and pensions and improves housekeeping conditions, among other benefits, Khan said. The Culinary Health Fund will cover 120,000 workers in Las Vegas, while the pension fund ensures retirement after working in the hospitality industry, Khan added.

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