Culinary plans new picket, ‘civil disobedience’ actions this week

Hospitality workers will once again rally on the Strip this week — including 75 union members who will participate in “civil disobedience” — as Culinary Local 226 continues to pressure hotel employers to negotiate a deal for a new five-year contract.

A four-hour picket and traffic disruption will occur in front of the Bellagio and Paris Las Vegas on Wednesday. Single-lane closures will begin at 4 p.m., with picketers rallying in front of both resorts beginning at 5 p.m.

At 6 p.m., about 75 hospitality workers are expected to be arrested in a “non-violent protest action” where they take over multiple lanes of traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard.

The effort comes as negotiations continue this week and next between the union and three major employers: MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts.

Contracts expired at the three large employers in September and the union held a strike authorization vote in which 95 percent of members supported a strike if necessary. About 40,000 members are working under expired contracts and would be the first to go on strike if one were called.

The picket will be Culinary’s second on the Strip this month. Workers also picketed in front of Paris and other hotels on Oct. 12.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.