Culinary union reveals tentative labor agreement with 2 Strip casinos

Culinary Local 226 said Tuesday it has reached a tentative labor agreement with the operators of The Venetian and Palazzo, a major step toward the first union contract for more than 4,000 hospitality workers at the two Las Vegas Strip casino-resorts.

Members must ratify the four-year collective bargaining agreement in a vote that will be scheduled soon, according to the union.

BREAKING: Culinary Union is pleased to announce that a Tentative Agreement on a new contract was just reached at 6:45am w/@VenetianVegas & @PalazzoVegas for over 4,000 hospitality workers.

Congratulations to Venetian/Palazzo workers on winning their first ever union contract! pic.twitter.com/6CrMrnox2u

— Culinary Union (@Culinary226) August 20, 2024

The property joins nearly all other Strip resorts, many of which settled employment terms with the state’s largest bargaining group during negotiations last fall and earlier this year, in becoming unionized.

In a statement, Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said the union contract is a testament to “worker solidarity and determination.

“The workers at The Venetian Resort have now made history by unionizing 25 years after the property opened its doors,” Pappageorge said. “This contract not only guarantees job security and fair wages, but it also upholds the standards that the Culinary Union has fought to establish in Las Vegas. We’ve always viewed time differently - this isn’t just about the here and now, it’s about building a legacy of fairness and dignity for working families in Las Vegas. Culinary Union applauds The Venetian Resort for doing the right thing and for agreeing to protect their employees with a strong union contract. The Venetian Resort becoming union ensures that Las Vegas remains a place where workers’ voices are heard, respected, and protected.”

It’s also a historic moment for The Venetian, which was a decadeslong holdout as the Strip’s only non-union property when it was controlled by Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its founder, chariman and CEO Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021.

Apollo Global Management, a hedge fund, acquired the hotels from Sands in a deal with Vici Properties, a real estate investment trust, in February 2022 for $6.25 billion. The new operators reached a card-check neutrality agreement, a process that meant management would not take a position on unionization and allowed the union to organize, in June 2023.

“I’m ecstatic,” Maureen Kimbro, a housekeeper, said in a video the union shared on X. “How things change if we actually voice our concern and have a group of people that back us up. It makes a lot of difference.”

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed Tuesday, but are expected to be similar to the contracts negotiated with other major Strip and downtown operators. The union said it achieved a “historic” contract for those workers, including a 10 percent wage increase in the first year of the contract with a 32 percent increase over the total life of the contract.

“The Venetian Resort Las Vegas has a long history of respecting our team members and putting their needs and interests at the center of our decision-making process,” Venetian President and CEO Patrick Nichols said in a statement. “The Venetian Resort has been and continues to be the most team member focused resort on The Las Vegas Strip. We look forward to ratification of the agreement and to a positive and productive relationship working alongside both the Joint Executive Board and our team members.”

Fontainebleau is the last major Strip resort without a contract, but the sides agreed to card-check neutrality before its December opening.

Culinary is still negotiating with Virgin Hotels, an off-Strip resort with about 700 members. Union members tried to push a deal earlier this year with a two-day strike on the property on east Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road.

The Review-Journal is owned by the Adelson family, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., and Las Vegas Sands President and COO Patrick Dumont.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.