The Culinary Union, which represents about 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including those employed at most hotel-casinos on the Strip and downtown Las Vegas, negotiated a contract in 2018 requiring advance notice before employers introduce technology that could affect jobs. The latest contract, ratified in 2023, also extends health care and pension benefits for workers displaced by new technology.
“There’s no other way to deal with this other than having a strong union contract,” said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the union.
According to Pappageorge, since the contract was updated three years ago, the union has invoked technology protections outlined in the contracts “multiple times every month.”