It was about this time 34 years ago that cooler heads finally prevailed to end a 75-day strike at the major casino-resorts of Las Vegas. Thousands of workers lost time on the job, and casino coffers suffered, too.
In all, approximately $100 million was lost during the war of words between management and representatives of Culinary Local 226, as well as the bartenders, stagehands and musicians unions. The five-year contract finally ratified was no gem for workers, but it ended what promised to be a long and painful summer for all concerned.
Las Vegas UPI Bureau Chief Myram Borders was on top of the story as usual, offering worldwide readers, “High-kicking showgirls and superstars raced through rehearsals today to open all showrooms for weekend high-rollers after the end of a 75-day strike at major Las Vegas ‘strip’ resorts which cost the gambling mecca more than $100 million.”
She reported that Dean Martin was once again warming up to take the stage at the MGM Grand’s Celebrity Theater after refusing to cross the picket line. Meanwhile, at the Tropicana, showgirls with the “Folies Bergere” ended their 11-week stint as the world’s tallest cocktail waitresses to return to the feathered and sequined chorus line.
They argued over a few pennies an hour and small improvements in their benefit package. The stagehands received not a penny’s increase in wages. From the reporting in the local press it was clear no one was happy with the June 15 settlement. But everyone was glad to return to work.
Nearly 900 strikers were arrested during the strike for allegedly harassing tourists, and Strip traffic was disrupted. Some dynamite bombs were set off in hotel parking lots. At least one resort was hit with stink bombs, and a tale of the discovery of a suitcase full of bees was reported.
Veterans on both sides of the battle knew it could have been much worse. The union officials believed certain casino operators wanted them off the property for good. At the end of the strike, then-stagehands president Dennis Kist observed, “I didn’t like the contract, but the strike was absolutely worth it. There were multinational corporations trying to break the unions and the unions survived.”
They survived in no small part because images of the picket line and occasional outbreaks of agitation became international news in a pre-Internet era. Although several showrooms patched together non-union stage crews, the tenacity of the then-30,000 member Culinary local had a real impact on the economy.
The ranks of the Culinary union are nearly double that today. Its clout on the Strip and in Nevada politics has increased, too.
Las Vegas Culinary’s growth in many ways mirrors the evolution of the casino industry itself. The labor organization’s history is as colorful and as shadowed as gaming’s own.
When Culinary members crowded into the Thomas and Mack Center on May 22 to cast a strike authorization vote, the result was a foregone conclusion. The 99-percent approval must have sent shivers up the spines of those who remembered 1984.
Although I think the press overplayed the strike threat, making it appear imminent instead of optional, the message was clearly sent by the union. Fortunately, officials with behemoth Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International found a path to reach a long-term agreement that not only increases wages and benefits, but also serves to modernize workplace rules in the wake of the Wynn Resorts sexual harassment scandal.
This is very good news, and in the Internet age word of the union’s tentative agreements with the casino giants also sent a worldwide message.
But more work is to be done. Although workers at Station Casinos properties have pressed for union representation, there is still no contract announcement. How that negotiation ends could wind up being one of the stories of the year.
Culinary’s ability to move the meter politically in 2018 can’t be overstated. Since the turn of the century, its programs have helped more than 16,000 immigrants become U.S. citizens with voting rights to match. The changing demographics of Southern Nevada puts the union in a prime position to effectively exercise its power at the ballot box and in the campaign field, where it’s able to quickly mobilize throngs of volunteers.
Culinary has grown and evolved along with Las Vegas. It has fought for, and now clearly demands, a respected seat at the casino-resort industry’s economic table.
Contact John L. Smith at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.
