Also, if you’re going to Las Vegas for Formula One’s race in a couple of weekends, you might not have anyone to serve you a drink. The union, which represents guest room attendants, servers, porters, cooks, laundry, and kitchen staff, says workers are ready to walk from 18 major casinos/hotels if conditions aren’t met by November 10th, which is just a few days before the F1 race opening ceremonies. F1 weekends have increasingly become glitzy affairs where, seemingly, the competitive action on track is often outdone by the race between wealthy individuals and celebrities trying to outspend one another. If the strike holds, both F1 and businesses in the area stand to lose a big chunk of change.
Are they serious? Here’s a bit from the AP and you can tell me if you think they’re serious: At a news conference, Ted Pappageorge, the union’s secretary-treasurer and chief contract negotiator, urged tourists and Formula 1 ticket-holders to support the workers if they go on strike by not coming to Las Vegas or crossing the picket lines. “We will be communicating to ask customers that they should take their business elsewhere,” he said.
Formula 1 did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Given the success of various unions this summer (UAW, UPS, WGA) it’ll be interesting to see how far the casino operators are willing to bend.