The Culinary and Bartenders Union reached a tentative agreement for a new four-year contract with Sodexo Live!/Centerplate at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).
The new contract includes historic wage increases and mandates for temporary workers. It will benefit 400 workers who will receive union wages and benefits
The Sodexo Live/Centerplate contract expired September 1, 2022, and 100 percent of workers voted to authorize a strike in December. While negotiations continued, the Saturday, March 11, 2023 strike deadline approached.
“The Culinary Union has fought hard to protect workers over the last 88 years, and we are proud that this new agreement is the best contract with the highest wage increases that Sodexo LIVE!/Centerplate workers have ever had while continuing to protect health care and pension benefits for 400 hospitality workers who work so hard every day to keep the Las Vegas Convention Center running,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union.
The possibility of a strike was especially problematic at the beginning of the year. In January, CES, the world’s largest tech show, hosted 100,000 people, and there was still no contract. If a strike had happened, then the impact would be disastrous.
The timing of this agreement was fortuitous. This week the ConExpo-Con/Agg construction equipment show is in town and set to attract an estimated 130,000 people.
“I feel so happy that we have a new contract,” said Esmeralda Avila, a pantry worker at Sodexo LIVE!/Centerplate. “We work so hard to ensure conventions and guests are taken care of, and with this new contract, one job is enough, and we will have something to show for all our hard work. I feel like a valued member of the team and am looking forward to going to work under this new contract. I’m also really proud that we won protections for temporary workers who work alongside us every day. With this new contract, temporary workers will be getting union benefits and wages and won’t be left behind.”