After 25 years of operation as a non-union hotel-resort and convention center, The Venetian Resort in Las Vegaswhich includes The Venetian and The Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip, have reached a tentative agreement with Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 and Bartenders Union, Local 165 under a new four-year contract covering more than 4,000 employees in the resorts’ food, beverage, housekeeping, bar, lounge and porter services.
Reached in the early hours of August 20, this historic agreement contains the standard union protections that the Culinary Union has negotiated and won over its 89-year history, including health care benefits, landlords and estate planning, access to the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas, the Culinary and Bartenders Housing Fund, the Culinary & Bartenders Legal Service Fund, the Culinary Union Pension, and includes provisions for enhanced worker safety in sexual harassment, technology and immigration matters, as well as a choice regarding health care benefits.
To reach this tentative agreement, which now awaits a ratification vote by the 4,000 newly unionized hotel workers at both properties, a committee of more than 100 Venetian Resort team members participated in every main table negotiating session and subcommittee meeting over the past year.
Mirroring Five-year union contracts reached with MGM International, Wynn Resorts and Caesars Entertainment Late last year, the agreement also included a significant wage increase of more than 35%, workload reductions, daily room cleaning for room attendants, safety protections for workers on the job, recall rights, and the right for union workers to support non-union restaurant workers seeking to unionize through picketing, leafleting, and other organizing activities.
Event planners will be closely monitoring the deal’s impact on costs, staffing or workforce planning, coordination with outside vendors and other issues. Remaining nonunion venues in Las Vegas include the recently opened Fontainebleau Las Vegas and the Sphere, the iconic entertainment arena.
The deal comes at a time when hospitality workers across the country are protesting for union contracts in over 50 hotels in major cities such as San Francisco, Boston, Providence, RI and Honolulu.
What they say: “Today’s tentative agreement on a new four-year union contract with The Venetian Resort Las Vegas is a testament to the strength of workers’ solidarity and determination,” said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union. “Workers at the Venetian Resort have now made history by organizing 25 years after the resort opened. This contract not only ensures job security and fair wages, it also upholds the standards that the Culinary Union fought to establish in Las Vegas.”
The overview: The tentative contract comes more than a year after the cooks’ and bartenders’ unions reached a card-checking neutrality agreement with The Venetian Resort in June 2023, which would allow the union groups to organize the resort’s non-gaming staff. According to cooks’ union officials, UNITE HERE Unions, including the cooks and bartenders unions, have a history of working with resort operator Apollo Global Management in Las Vegas and other major metropolitan areas across the United States.
Deeper Dive: “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,” said Patrick Nichols, president and CEO of The Venetian Resort. “The Venetian Resort has been and continues to be the most team member-centric resort on the Las Vegas Strip. We look forward to the ratification of the agreement and a positive and productive relationship working alongside the Joint Executive Board and our team members.”
Background story: The deal also marks the end of more than two decades of anti-union efforts by former Venetian and Palazzo owner Sheldon Adelson. Two months after his death in January 2021, the Strip properties were acquired for $6.25 billion in a two-part deal between real estate trust VICI Properties, which bought the land, resort properties and the Venetian Expo for $4 billion, and Apollo, which acquired the resorts’ operations for $2.25 billion.
Why it matters: “This new contract is a milestone for all of us. We have been working for a long time to get such a significant wage increase and pension. It is exciting to see this come to fruition and I appreciate the collaboration between the Culinary Union and the Venetian Resort to make this happen,” said Sergio Javier Andrade, who has worked as a floor attendant at the Venetian Resort for 17 years. “We have worked hard for this for over a year and I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. By voting yes to ratification, we are preparing for a brighter and safer future.”
Context: Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas. Both unions are Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, which represents 300,000 workers in the gaming, hospitality and restaurant industries across North America.
Watch a video of the union’s announcement here.
Don’t miss any news related to the event: subscribe to our weekly newsletter HERElisten to our latest podcast HERE and engage with us on LinkedIn!