By DON McINTOSHÂ
One by one, the three biggest casino operators settled in the final days and hours before a planned Nov. 10 strike that would have shut down almost the entire Las Vegas Strip, 18 casinos in all. Ratified by margins of 99% Nov. 20-22, new contracts with Caesars, MGM, and Wynn will increase pay 32% over five years for 40,000 workers, raising pay from an average of $26 hour to $35 an hour. The first of the annual raises will be 10%. The contracts also establish more humane housekeeping room quotas. UNITE HERE Local 226 and Local 165 called them the best contracts ever.
If the strike had gone forward, it would have been the largest hospitality worker strike in U.S. history.
Negotiations continue for 24 smaller casinos on the Strip and in downtown Las Vegas, including Circus Circus and Trump Hotel Las Vegas.
