Culinary plans March 20 strike authorization vote

Culinary Union members protest inside of the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino in Las Vegas Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. Culinary members will vote next month on contracts that cover about 10,000 Las Vegas workers. (John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Members of the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, wait in line to re-enroll for the health insurance at the culinary headquarters in this Dec. 10, 2013, file photo. Culinary members will vote next month on contracts that cover about 10,000 Las Vegas workers. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

the Tropicana Las Vegas is among the resorts still negotiating with the Culinary union. Culinary members will vote next month on contracts that cover about 10,000 Las Vegas workers. The interior of the Havana Room, used for private events, is seen at Tropicana Las Vegas on Monday, Nov. 25, 2013. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Culinary union members will vote next month on contracts that cover about 10,000 Las Vegas workers, including workers at the Stratosphere. (File, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Members of a powerful Las Vegas hotel union are planning a vote next month that could empower organizers to call for a strike.

The Culinary union is negotiating over contracts that cover about 10,000 Las Vegas workers.

Last week, members voted to end a contract extension put in place in June, which means workers now have the right to picket, boycott, and strike.

Culinary spokeswoman Yvanna Cancela says members will take a strike authorization vote on March 20.

The 17 casinos still in negotiations include the Golden Nugget, the D Las Vegas, Tropicana and the Stratosphere. The union recently agreed on new contracts with MGM Resorts International and Caesars.

Cancela says contract negotiations have not ended in a strike since 1991, when workers picketed the Frontier casino for more than 6 years.