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Calls Spread To Enact 'Right Of Recall' For Laid-Off Workers

In August, a group of Las Vegas labor unions launched the Save Our Jobs Coalition to push the Clark County Commission — whose jurisdiction includes the gambling destination — to provide recall rights.

The pandemic has been especially tough on workers in Las Vegas, said Bethany Khan, communications director for Culinary Workers Union Local 226, an affiliate of the Unite Here hospitality workers union. Ninety-eight percent of the union's 60,000 members were furloughed when the state government shut down casinos at the height of the pandemic in March; seven months later, "maybe 50%" of the union's members are back to work, Khan said.

Most union workers in Las Vegas have recall rights for up to two years following their layoff, but many workers don't enjoy this protection. Their employers have not all been generous, Khan said.

This is the case at Station Casinos, where Local 226 represents workers but has not yet reached a first contract providing recall rights, Khan said. The company has recalled some workers, making them reapply and in some cases paying rehired workers less than they previously earned, she said.

"We don't think [this] is right," Khan said. "Workers should not be abandoned after working so many years as a loyal employee."

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