'Robots can't beat us': Las Vegas casino workers prep for strike over automation
'Robots can't beat us': Las Vegas casino workers prep for
strike over automation
Increasing automation has become a sticking point
alongside other issues that could see workers bring city to a standstill
By Dan Hernandez in Las Vegas Sat 2 Jun 2018 13.05 EDT
At the Tipsy Robot in Las Vegas, a mechanical arm mixes
cocktails that patrons order on tablet computers. “Galactic ambassadors” –
human waitresses in shiny silver skirts – are sometimes available to deliver
drinks. But the underlying message at the future-themed bar is that humans are
irrelevant.
It’s a novelty experience, but the future Tipsy Robot
represents is one of several issues that may lead tens of thousands of Las
Vegas hotel employees to strike in the coming days.
The action could be a citywide resort strike, with dozens
of casinos impacted.
The contracts between Nevada’s largest hospitality
companies – most notably MGM Resorts International – and an estimated 38,000
bartenders, cocktail servers, maids, cooks and others staff, expired 1 June.
The Culinary and Bartenders Unions, which represent resort workers in the
negotiations for a new five-year contract, say wage increases, workload quotas
and job security threats posed by automation are the sticking points.
Caesars Entertainment reached an agreement for its 12,000
union workers on Friday. But the months’ long labor talks are on pause with the
other resort companies, which together account for 25 Las Vegas hotels.
Strike dates have not been set, but staff at iconic
properties like the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Circus Circus and The Mirage are
ready to picket.
This comes at one of the most lucrative moments in the
strip’s recent history. The Vegas Golden Knights are skating in the Stanley Cup
finals at the MGM Resorts-owned T-Mobile Arena in their inaugural season. Bars
and sports books are packed with fans wearing hockey jerseys, leading some to
wonder what would happen if the gambling palaces shut down.
Of the 25,000 workers who participated in the strike vote,
99% approved the measure. In justifying demands for higher wages, Culinary
pointed to the companies’ large cash flows.
“We know that MGM for example is doing $3-4bn dollar
buyback of stocks from their investors and we’re making the argument that
workers are their best shareholders,” Bethany Khan, the Culinary Union
spokeswoman, said. “We’ve been sacrificing for many years – especially during
the great recession we decided to forgo wage increases so the companies could
remain profitable. Now they are, so as their best investors we want a fair
share of that.”
If it were to last as long as the previous Las Vegas
resort strike – 67 days in 1984 – Culinary estimates the work stoppage could
cost MGM Resorts $200m, a heavy price to pay for a fleet of robots, which
account for another hang-up in negotiations.
We know technology is coming, but we want to
have a say in how it is implemented
Bethany Khan,
Culinary Union
Machines have already replaced the “change girls” who
once roamed the casino floor. Since then prep cooks and bakers have seen
positions dwindle due to mass food prep and commissary kitchen operations. Most
recently, robot room service and digital check-in kiosks have threatened job
security.
“We know technology is coming, but we want to have a say
in how it is implemented,” Khan said. “Be it monitoring the robot, stocking the
robot, or whatever – as the jobs change inevitably workers should have opportunities
to train for those new jobs. And if they can’t or won’t, they should receive
generous severance packages.”
Sexual harassment and safety is also a concern. The
companies have tentatively agreed to provide alarm buttons to women who enter
hotel rooms alone. Unions claim that management could do more to tackle
aggressive sexual behavior by high rollers and other VIP clientele on the
casino floor too, so the union is seeking new policies to handle those
situations as well.
Kayla Cinnamon, a bartender at the El Cortez, said that
though she hadn’t experienced sexual harassment personally, she was willing to
strike for those protections out of solidarity to other women. “It’s important
we get our rights taken care of. That’s the point of having a union,” she
added.
Responding to the disputes, the casinos are keen to
highlight the jobs they create.
In an email statement, MGM Resorts said, “We remain
dedicated to negotiating a contract that demonstrates our commitment to
employees and their families while our company continues creating good jobs and
future opportunities in Las Vegas.”
Danielle Fetters, a cocktail waitress at the Mirage, said
she’s anxious that the labor standoff will threaten gains already made and
hopes the union settles for what’s on the table now.
At the same time, Fetters and her colleagues on the
casino floor are “legitimately worried” that touchscreen beverage ordering
systems will soon diminish their roles serving slot machine players. That
software is already being piloted in some casinos, where complimentary drinks
are tied to the time and money a player spends gambling.
“You used to get cigarettes and rooms and buffets and
this really cool stuff,” she said.” “Now they’re so tight with everything, even
though they’re making more money – and they want to get away from having
cocktail waitresses? The art of customer service is completely gone. Don’t
start with all this BS that you’re there for hospitality when you’re turning
everything over to machines. It’s going to eliminate a lot of jobs for us, and
then where do we go? This has been everything I know for my entire adult life.”
At the Fremont casino in downtown Las Vegas, Ivan, a
bartender with a Russian accent, said the strike was a good, principled stand
to allow workers to share in the resorts’ profits, but he’s not yet worried
about automation.
“Sooner or later it’s going to happen, but robots can’t
beat us yet. At high volume places I don’t see it, and high-end places no way.
It’s a social environment too. It’s not just about getting a drink.”
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