Caesars reaches deal with Las Vegas union to avoid strike

The exterior of Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino is viewed in Las Vegas on Dec. 4, 2015.

George Rose | Getty Images

A strike is off the table for nearly 10,000 Caesars Entertainment union workers on the Las Vegas strip.

The Culinary Union said it took 20 straight hours of negotiations to produce a tentative deal for a new five-year contract, two days before a deadline for a walkout.

The previous contract expired June 1. The Culinary Union and Bartenders Union members voted to authorize a strike in September against Caesars, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts.

Negotiations with MGM and Wynn are ongoing.

In a statement to CNBC, Caesars said its union employees will see meaningful wage increases that align with growth opportunities and past performance.

“We have done quite well as a company post-merger, post-pandemic,” Caesars CEO Tom Reeg said on an earnings call Oct. 31. “Our employees should and will participate in that.”

He said it would be the biggest wage increase for Caesars employees in the company’s four decades of dealing with the Culinary Union.

The company reported an all-time record for adjusted EBITDA, a crucial metric of profitability in the gaming industry, of more than $1 billion.

Reeg indicated that the company budgeted this summer for the wage increases and built new terms of the contract into the company’s business model.

Details of the deal have not yet been released.

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Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/08/caesars-reaches-deal-with-las-vegas-union-to-avoid-strike.html