Biden thanks unionized hospitality workers in Las Vegas on eve of primary
President Joe Biden on Monday congratulated hospitality workers for reaching a tentative agreement with several Las Vegas resorts and calling off a strike deadline for another, telling members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, “When you do well, everybody does better.”
“I came to say thank you — not just thank you for the support you’ve given me the last time out and this time, but thank you for having the faith in the union,” Biden, who is running for reelection in November to a second term, told the Culinary workers who gathered at the Strip resort Vdara.
“Thank you for continuing to push it because this really matters. It matters, it matters, it matters,” he said.
The president had been in Las Vegas since Sunday for campaign appearances ahead of the state’s Democratic primary today. He visited with the union members Monday and later visited a boba tea shop before flying back to Washington.
Culinary, which represents hospitality workers, says it and the associated Bartenders Union Local 65 have reached a tentative agreement with six more downtown resorts — Golden Nugget, Binion’s, Four Queens, Fremont, Main Street and Downtown Grand — and called off a strike deadline for another off-strip property, Virgin Las Vegas.
In a statement, Culinary Union Secretary-treasurer Ted Pappageorge said a pact was expected “in the coming weeks.”
The Culinary Union is the largest in Nevada with about 60,000 members statewide. It negotiates on behalf of its members for five-year contracts.
Biden recently was endorsed by the United Auto Workers union. He proudly touts his longstanding support for the men and women of organized labor.
“I make no apologies for being the most pro-union president in America,” he said Sunday night at a reelection campaign rally in a historically Black neighborhood in Las Vegas.
Culinary’s tentative agreements averted a Monday morning walkout threat at several near-strip and downtown properties as the city kicks off Super Bowl week. The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs will face off at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday in Super Bowl 58.
After negotiations with some of the remaining casinos hit a snag, the union announced last week it would go on strike if tentative contracts weren’t in place by early Monday for downtown casino workers at properties that hadn’t reached agreements.
The NFL’S 58th Super Bowl is expected to bring 330,000 people to Las Vegas this week, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.