Published on Apr 20, 2014
Las Vegas Unions Strike and Won't Vote Democrat Over Obama

Contract negotiations are stalled for thousands of workers at casinos on the Strip and in downtown Las Vegas to the point where they may go on strike — and the sticking point is Obamacare.

On Feb. 20, thousands of housekeepers, porters, cooks, cocktail servers, and others represented by Nevada's largest union, the Culinary Union Local 226, voted to end a contract extension the workers agreed to last summer. The union wants to maintain its current benefits — including health care coverage at no cost to workers, pensions, and guaranteed 40-hour workweeks.

Rising health care costs due to provisions in the Affordable Care Act could put those benefits in jeopardy, the union says.

"The biggest hurdle to reaching settlements in Vegas is the new costs imposed on our health plan by Obamacare," Donald "D" Taylor, president of Unite Here, the parent union of CU Local 226, told BuzzFeed in a statement. "Even though the president and Congress promised we could keep our health plan, the reality is, unless the law is fixed, that won't be true."

On March 20, workers will have the opportunity to decide whether or not they would want to walk off the job at several hotels, including the Stratosphere, the Riviera, and the Plaza.

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Intro by: Laurent Caccia
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