LAS VEGAS (AP) – Hundreds of hotel, casino and restaurant workers in matching red shirts gathered on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday as the culinary union launched a second monthly appeal to fire people to of inactive jobs last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Culinary Union said more than a third of its 60,000 members had not been rehired, despite a resumption of casinos and hotels after closures imposed in March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“If companies are charging you full price, you want to make sure you’re getting full service,” union president Ted Pappageorge said, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The message echoed calls made on September 24, when the Culinary Union organized a march of thousands of members on the Strip.
Casinos across the state have been riding a wave of tourism to set monthly earnings records, room rates have rebounded and tourism officials are reporting visitor numbers are approaching pre-pandemic levels.
Nevada’s unemployment rate in September was 7.5%, down slightly from 7.7% in August.
That’s more than double the record high of 3.6% in February 2020, but well below the all-time high of over 30% set in April 2020 – a month after businesses and casinos closed.
The union says many unemployed employees have exhausted public unemployment benefits.
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