The Venetian, a major hotel and casino on the Las Vegas strip, and the Culinary Union have reached a contract agreement. The Venetian was the last establishment on the Las Vegas strip not to have a union contract with the Culinary Union, and workers at the Venetian have been fighting for a contract for the last 25 years.
The Venetian’s management changed in recent years after the original owner passed away and was sold to Apollo Global Management. Apollo Global Management was much more open to worker unionization than previous management, and stated that working together with employees leads to the best results and everyone benefits. Unionized workers voted in favor of ratifying the contract, and the contract will increase employee wages and improve employee healthcare benefits.
Standing in front of a sculpture spelling out the word ‘Love’ in the Palazzo-Venetian waterfall atrium, Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su compared the Culinary Union Local 226’s first contract with the Venetian and Palazzo to a marriage. “Workers never try to organize a union because they don’t want to work with their employer,” Su
said at the September contract celebration. “They want the employer to do well, and that shared success is the future of the romance that you all solidified here today.”