The powerful Nevada union representing more than 60,000 casino workers in the Las Vegas area sued several of the city’s casino operators on Monday, accusing them of not adequately protecting employees from the coronavirus pandemic.
Culinary Union secretary-treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline told the Associated Press that union members, which include domestic workers, cooks and bartenders, “want to work, but want to work safely.”
“We are going to do whatever it takes to protect these workers, these families and this community,” he added, according to the AP.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court in Las Vegas, accuses several resorts and properties of operating for nearly three weeks before imposing facial masks and seeks a court order requiring more stringent security measures under the Federal statute for collective bargaining, the news service reported. The defendants include a Harrah’s Las Vegas restaurant, the Signature Condominium towers at the MGM Grand resort and the Bellagio casino.
The lawsuit asserts that the defendants required their own employees to wear masks during the same period, indicating that they “recognized the critical importance of wearing masks”, but that despite “overwhelming evidence of the importance of compelling guests to cover their faces in public areas. ” of casinos and hotels … the defendants, along with other casinos and hotels in southern Nevada, only ‘encouraged’ guests to wear face masks. ”
Argüello-Kline said Monday that at least 19 union members or immediate family members have died from the virus since the outbreak in Nevada began. Union officials have long called on Governor Steve Sisolak (D) and the Clark County Commission, which has jurisdiction over the Las Vegas Strip, to announce stricter worker safety standards.
Last week, Sisolak made facial coatings a requirement, saying, “In order for Nevada to stay safe and open, we must make facial coatings a routine part of our daily lives.”
The Hill contacted Harrah’s operator Caesars Entertainment and MGM Grand and Bellagio’s operator MGM Resorts International for comment.
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