98 Arrested During Casino Union Protest in Las Vegas

Two years of working without a contract has gotten too much for culinary workers at the Cosmopolitan casino in Las Vegas. Around 1,500 union members hit the streets in red shirts with signs saying

“No Justice, No Peace” and chanting in unison. The protest had a nasty turn when police were forced to arrest the 98 union members due to the fact that they were blocking traffic in the Las Vegas Strip.

It all began two years ago, when Las Vegas' most powerful and largest union entered into negotiations with the owner of the Cosmopolitan casino. Failure to reach an agreement has led to escalating tension between the parties. Earlier this year, the union (which is comprised of 54,000 members) held pickets outside the Cosmopolitan casino. However, not until this most recent turn of events have the union members turned to civil disobedience to get attention for their cause. What makes this even more remarkable is the fact that this has not occurred outside a unionized casino for more than 20 years.

Cosmopolitan's spokeswoman, Amy Rossetti, has said in a press release that the casino's management will continue to negotiate with the employees to find a fair agreement. She also made a point of the fact that the union is now dealing directly with the casino's management and not with the owner of the casino (Deutsche Bank). This is a good sign that a deal might be reached soon and that the actions of the union will not continue to escalate.