Speakers blasted the song “We Are Family.” And from all directions, people in red shirts trickled in. A flatbed truck served as an improvised stage. In front of the Paris Las Vegas Casino, cones were carefully laid down the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard, shutting down three of its six lanes. In past contracts, the Atlantic City union had concentrated on preserving health care and pension benefits, but this time sought “significant” pay raises for workers to help them keep pace with spiraling prices for gasoline, food, rent and other living expenses, the union said.It was the week before Halloween on the Vegas Strip, and the party had already begun. It also removed any chance of a strike for several years, an important consideration for Atlantic City’s casino industry as it tries to return to pre-pandemic business levels. Last summer, the casino workers’ union in Atlantic City negotiated landmark contracts that gave workers the biggest raises they’ve ever had. “It’s a chance for all the members to come out and show that we’re really ready to fight.” “It’s great to see all the huge numbers in turnout,” said Kuykendall, a bellperson at Flamingo Las Vegas.

Rory Kuykendall, 40, said he is hopeful that Tuesday’s vote will have the same effect. Five-year contracts were reached soon after a majority of the participating 25,000 hospitality workers cast votes to walk off the job. The union last voted to authorize a strike in 2018.

The union said all the strikers returned to their jobs afterward, with back pay and benefits. It became one of the longest strikes in U.S. In 1991, more than 500 workers went on strike at the now-shuttered Frontier hotel and casino in downtown Las Vegas. Khan declined to say how much the union is seeking in pay raises because “we do not negotiate in public,” although the union has said it is asking for “the largest wage increases ever negotiated” in its history. Bethany Khan, the union’s spokesperson, said all members receive health insurance and currently earn about $26 hourly, including benefits.

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