Dozens of Culinary Union members arrested in act of ‘civil disobedience’ on Las Vegas Strip

As the Culinary Union in Las Vegas seeks a new five-year contract, dozens of its members were arrested on the Las Vegas Strip Wednesday evening in an act that the group deemed “civil disobedience.”Show more

The assembled union members were vocal as they picketed in front of multiple Strip resort hotels. At approximately 5:45 p.m., some of them gathered between Bellagio and Paris and sat down in a circle in the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard, bringing traffic to a dead stop.

Thousands of Culinary Union members to picket on Las Vegas Strip Wednesday
At approximately 5:50 p.m., Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers began to take the union members disrupting traffic into custody, using zip ties to bind their hands and escort them off the street. The remaining union members cheered wildly and vocally as this happened.The Culinary Union says they have had enough.

Nevada's most powerful union chose to come off the sidewalks and disrupt traffic on the Las Vegas Strip on Wednesday night.

Police began arresting protestors around 5:50 p.m.

The rally comes as negotiations continue between the powerful union and the "Big Three" casino groups: MGM, Caesars, and Wynn Resorts.Since Sept. 15, 40,000 union workers have been working under an expired contract. The union voted 95% in favor of a strike authorization on Sept. 26, which means a citywide strike can be called at any moment.

"We have a history and tradition here in Las Vegas of civil disobedience," said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer and chief negotiator for the union during a Monday press call. "That means when you believe that there's something unjust going on, that you will send a message and take an arrest in a peaceful, nonviolent action. To send a message that we're disciplined, we're organized, and we're strong, and we're ready to fight."

Wynn Resorts did not have a comment on the Wednesday rally or the current status of contract negotiations. MGM and Caesars did not return requests for comment.