Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Culinary Union marches for return to jobs on the Las Vegas Strip

Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 March

Wade Vandervort

Members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 march on the Strip Friday, Sept. 24, 2021.

Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 March

Members of the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 protest on the Strip Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Launch slideshow »

In an unusual sight for the Strip teeming with tourists on a packed Friday evening, a tide of red-shirt-clad protesters marched down Las Vegas Boulevard. 

Among animated chants of “full-service cleaning” and “full-service restaurants,” hundreds of Culinary Workers Union Local 226 members traversed traffic lanes blocked off by police.

The front of the line was occupied by resort employees dressed in work outfits: housekeepers, porters, bell persons, cocktail servers and waiters. A woman in kitchen garb continuously banged on an aluminum pot. 

The affair proceeded jovially, with tourists stopping on sidewalks and pedestrian bridges to take it in — some even cheered. 

It was the “first major march” for the union since the onset of the pandemic. The union estimated the attendance in the thousands, while Metro Police put the number around 550. Either way, it ended about 7 p.m. without a hitch, Lt. Joshua Younger said.  

Why march now? 

Because despite the reopening of casinos and hotels, Culinary Union officials said about one-third of its members — or about 21,000 workers — remain out of work some 19 months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Nevada.

Many idled employees have now exhausted public unemployment benefits, they said.

For Nevada to “come back stronger,” the tourist experience depends on resorts being fully staffed, their rooms cleaned and sanitized daily, and the restaurants properly run, something that’s not possible with a third of the workforce at home, according to longtime Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline.  

The demonstrators marched south on Las Vegas Boulevard, near Flamingo Road, cutting to the opposite direction on Harmon Avenue, before heading north on the boulevard, stopping in front of Caesars Palace, where speakers addressed the crowd from a makeshift pickup-truck stage. 

The organization said it has fought to get their employees back to work.

One of them is Adela Montes De Oca, a 12-year housekeeper at Aria.

After leading “union power” chants, Montes De Oca said in Spanish that the pandemic has been difficult on everyone, but that as a Culinary Union member, she feels blessed to be one of 60,000 who have been able to stay on the organization’s health care plan. 

“Now it’s time,” she said. “We’re ready to work. We want to say ‘Las Vegas is open, Las Vegas is prepared, we’re ready to give the best service that our guests deserve.’” 

Mario Sandoval, who’d been employed at Binion’s Gambling Hall for 36 years, hasn’t been back since he was furloughed last March. The company informed him of a new start date, which led him to quit a part-time job, but then they didn’t get back to him.

Union spokeswoman Bethany Khan said that Sandoval’s eventual reemployment is covered under Senate Bill 386, which partly states that it requires “an employer to offer certain job positions to a laid-off employee,” according to the legislation.

“I’ve seen Las Vegas go through many changes, but nothing like COVID-19,” Sandoval told the crowd. 

But “the union has had my back the whole way,” he said, noting the health insurance and the food it has provided during the pandemic. 

“We’re here today to tell you, Las Vegas and this country, that we are open and waiting for you,” Sandoval said. “We are ready to go back to work.”

Casinos statewide have ridden a tourism surge to set monthly winnings records, and tourism officials reported the number of visitors in July approached the millions tallied in pre-pandemic July 2019.

A UFC event was scheduled Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, the NFL Las Vegas Raiders were due to host the Miami Dolphins Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, and NASCAR events were scheduled with no capacity restrictions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Resorts were hosting shows ranging from Cirque du Soleil productions Mystère, O, Michael Jackson One and Beatles Love to illusionists Penn & Teller and percussionists Blue Man Group.

At least 20 clubs of various size have reopened following coronavirus closures, and the big Resorts World Las Vegas complex opened its new Zouk Nightclub this month.

Gov. Steve Sisolak said he plans to meet with labor leaders at the International Union of Elevator Constructors International Convention in Las Vegas on Monday when he is scheduled to speak on the state’s plan to try to use recent bank infrastructure legislation to create good-paying jobs.

“Nevada’s economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic is laser-focused on creating jobs and supporting workers,” Sisolak said in a statement Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.