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Las Vegas Union Brass Reject Casino Contract Offer

``The Culinary Workers union received the proposals from MGM Mirage and Mandalay Resort Group on Monday, said union spokesman Glenn Arnodo.

``The offers came just four days after union members overwhelmingly authorized their leaders to call a strike if a new contract agreement is not reached before the current one expires on May 31.

``...Casino representatives and analysts have said such a strike would be a major setback to Las Vegas, which was hit hard during the post-Sept. 11 travel crisis but has come back strongly in recent months.

``Arnodo said the the union has scheduled negotiations with all the city's major casino operators over the next week.

``In a letter to the union, MGM Mirage said it was informed that despite finding the proposal constructive, union officials were not prepared to recommend approval of the offer by rank-and-file members.

``...The company said it was confident its new proposal satisfies the union's two biggest demands for health care benefits at no cost to workers and a "meaningful" change to working conditions for housekeepers.

``...The last time a comparable strike shut down much of the Las Vegas Strip was in 1984, when workers went off the job for 67 days.

``Analysts have said the economic impact of a new strike is not clear, but the union estimated the proportional impact of the first month of the 1984 strike equaled that of the first 30 days after Sept. 11, when hotel occupancy levels plunged to as low as 50 percent..."

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