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VEGAS INC beverages. Davis and other waitresses say it's also impossible to keep tabs on guests to make sure they don't get too drunk, an important role cocktail waitresses play. Serving drinks now feels like a race, Davis said. If a cocktail waitress at the Showboat fails to deliver drinks in the allotted time frame, she is disciplined with a warning. Some worry about getting fired. At the end of every week, casino bosses post the average run times of waitresses on a board. "I was always one who was a hustler," Davis said. "That's what I wanted to be. I could talk $5 out of a guy who would give me 50 cents. Now when my customers stop me, I'm like, 'Oh, really sorry. I have to get back to the bar.'" Davis and three other cocktail servers came to Las Vegas in spring to let cocktail waitresses here know what's coming down the pike. In Las Vegas, Culinary officials have been negotiating with Caesars and MGM Resorts International to carve out new contracts. Their previous contracts expired June 1, but both casino companies signed extensions so that discussions can continue without the threat of a strike. The Culinary has two committees of cocktail waitresses working on the beverage ambassador issue. Geoconda Arguello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary, said the union has listened to Caesars proposals and countered with proposals of their own. But negotiations are confidential, so she declined to comment on specifics. At the Quad on a recent afternoon, a lone beverage ambassador wearing a black outfit that resembled a flight attendant's uniform walked from table to table, taking drink orders on an iPad. Cocktail waitresses waited at a beverage station down a hallway. Dressed in low-cut shirts and armed with trays, they filed out at different times with drinks in hand, following coordinates to find thirsty guests. There was little chatter when they arrived. The waitresses handed the guests their drinks and collected a tip. The beverage ambassadors, on the other hand, were much more animated. They lingered to talk with customers, joking and laughing. At least some customers noticed the new approach. "It's different," one man said. | 30 SEPTEMBER 2013 20130930_VI01_F.indd 17 | Culinary Union threatens citywide strike IN PROTEST: Culinary Union members picket outside the Cosmopolitan. The union is in contract negotiations with major casino companies. By Ed Komenda staff writer The Culinary Union is preparing for a potential citywide strike, its first in Las Vegas since 1984. In a written warning to Wall Street investors, Unite Here, the parent company of the Culinary, said a strike will be imminent if solid contracts are not soon inked with MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment. "Union workers are preparing for a major labor dispute," Unite Here spokesman Ken Liu wrote, suggesting that the strike could happen this year. "As the companies have shown no urgency toward working out a settlement, union members have started to sign up for ID cards in preparation for a strike." The Culinary — which represents about 60,000 bartenders, housekeepers and food servers — has been negotiating with the gaming giants since contracts expired in June. MGM and Caesars have signed contract extensions, and officials from both companies contend talks of a strike are premature and uncalled for. "MGM Resorts' discussions with the unions remain substantive, and we are confident we will arrive at a contract agreement shortly," MGM spokesman Gordon Absher said. "We feel this new leaflet does not accurately reflect our situation. However, the unions are negotiating with a number of companies simultaneously. Not all talks may be progressing as well as ours." Caesars spokesman Gary Thompson said he believes his company will be able to reach an agreement with the union before the situation escalates. "Threats of a strike aren't particularly prudent at a time when visitation to Las Vegas is slowly recovering from the effects of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression," Thompson said. The Culinary has kept steady pressure on the gaming companies throughout negotiations. The union launched Vegastravelalert.com this year to warn visitors of potential labor disputes in Las Vegas. The site lists MGM and Caesars properties as "atrisk" for a strike. The union has a reputation of using guerrilla tactics to pressure resorts into inking contracts that increase worker wages, subsidize health care and guarantee full-time workweeks. SAM MORRIS But union bosses claim negotiations regarding those major points have all but stalled. "The companies have not yet made any concrete proposals regarding wages and benefits except for an idea (from Caesars Entertainment) to tie wage increases to net revenue growth in Las Vegas," Liu wrote. Liu told investors the Culinary has been preparing workers for striking duties since mid-August. In May, Culinary members voted to increase union dues by 60 percent — or $25 a month — to gather money for a strike fund. The last citywide strike took place in 1984 and was the largest in Las Vegas history. More than 17,000 workers protested 32 Strip resorts. Culinary leaders had carved out contracts with the owners of 15 properties but couldn't reach an agreement with the others. The strike ended nine months later when police arrested 900 picketers and six casinos severed their union ties. Though the dissolved relationships cost union members more than $70 million in lost wages and benefits, the Culinary saw the strike as a major victory. 17 9/26/13 2:10:16 PM