When hours started getting cut at the Fiesta Henderson Hotel and Casino outside Las Vegas and the coronavirus threatened to close the resort, Norma Flores was cautiously optimistic.
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She had worked there as a server for 20 years since immigrating from Mexico, and she thought her seniority as a server in the casino would save her from the worst of the cuts.
It didn’t. She was laid off in August.
Now, her daughter’s job at a deli counter at a small casino is all they have for her household of eight. Her daughter makes little more than minimum wage, so Flores has started cleaning houses once or twice a week to patch together enough to pay the light bill or get the kids something better to eat than cheese and bean burritos.
They survive on her daughter’s food stamps and, when they’re short, Flores will grab food from a local union.