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Culinary Union Employees Want Casino Transparency

Two females stick their heads out of a silver car with a sign reading "Vegas Open Up Safely Workers Lives Depend On It."
Photo courtesy of the Culinary Workers Union
A silver car drives up the Las Vegas Strip on Tuesday, May 12, with people holding a sign urging casinos to open up safely. The Culinary Union is asking Nevada casinos to adopt their public health guidelines before reopening.

Lee en español.

The labor union representing thousands of Nevada’s casino workers says the industry needs to be transparent in how it intends to reopen.

More than 10,000 Culinary Union employees drove up and down the Las Vegas Strip on Tuesday, May 12, as part of an effort to get casinos to implement stronger public health policies and disclose their full reopening plans. 

A red car drives with "Don't Gamble With Workers Safety" written on the windshield.
Culinary Union employees drive the Las Vegas Strip with messages written on their cars and signs on Tuesday, May, 12. According to the NGCB said, employees will be encouraged to stay home if they have flu-like symptoms.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, before a casino can open they must submit an individualized COVID-19 prevention plan, disinfect all surfaces and provide cleaning and social distancing training to all employees. 

Union spokesperson Bethany Kahn said their recommendations will help keep more people, not just employees, safe.   

“Workers want to go back to work,” Khan said. “They don't want to bring back anything that impacts their family’s safety. That's why the union is calling on the companies to negotiate. We think that by working together we can ensure that workers and the visitors are safe.” 

Once casinos open, the Nevada Gaming Control Board stated, each establishment must place signage throughout the property regarding proper hand hygiene.

Employees exhibiting flu-like symptoms should be encouraged to stay home and have to inform local health authorities if they test positive for COVID-19.  

Andrew Mendez is a bilingual student reporter with Noticiero Móvil at the Reynolds School of Journalism.

Andrew Méndez is a former bilingual student reporter at KUNR Public Radio.
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