LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Culinary Union held a Workers' Labor Day rally at the Sphere to negotiate a first-time union contract on Monday, according to the Culinary Union.
Culinary union leaders say they want to continue helping employees across the valley fight for strong protections, fair wages and guaranteed benefits.
“This year, the Culinary Union is celebrating its 90th anniversary and a proud legacy of fighting and winning for working families in Nevada,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union.
In a flyer sent to Channel 13, the Sphere says they're "fully committed to reaching a fair contract."
Within the flyer, the Sphere team lists several "facts" related to Sphere and union negotiations, including the Sphere claiming offering full contributions to the UNITE HERE health fund and allowing employees to participate in their 401k plan with matching contributions, being unable to meet frequently with the Union and only being able to have five "big table" bargaining sessions since negotiation began in November 2024.
Despite this, the Sphere says they "remain committed to its hard-working and dedicated employees and to engaging in meaningful and good faith bargaining."
"During the Virgin Strike, it was empowering to stand next to the strikers because I saw that it wasn’t just a fight for that contract alone, but it was also a fight to protect all of our union contracts across the city. We have each other's backs. We stand up for each other and the companies see that,” said Liz Montelongo, a cocktail server at The Cosmopolitan for 12 years, Shop Steward and Culinary Union member for 10 years.