Union workers join forces

David W. Crowell

Thursday, Jan. 29, 1998 | 9:16 a.m.

First published on Dec. 6, 1991.

Ralph Wilson was one of thousands of union members who braved the cold to march up the Strip to the Frontier hotel-casino where four unions have been striking since September.

"It's very important, it's for the whore community, too," said the Las Vegan who has been a carpenter for 12 years "When union members' standard of living goes up, the standard of living for the whole community goes up."

The rally and march was billed as a show of solidarity for the city's labor movement.

The march started south of the Tropicana Hotel at 6 p.m. Thursday. Two hours later the last of the union members reached the Frontier where a rally followed.

Johnny LaVoie, a Culinary Union official, estimated there were 8,000 marching in the procession.

Nearly 30 different labor unions marched, ranging from the Culinary workers, the largest union in the city, to Elevator Construction Employees, with all 53 of its members marching up the Strip.

The atmosphere was almost party-like as marches rang bells and shouted slogans while the 11 semi-trucks at the head of the parade blew their horns.

Bands played on several trailers in the procession, and tourists danced behind them to tunes such as "Jailhouse Rock."

While some tourists enjoyed the bands and the marchers, for others it was a headache.

One couple wanted to ride the bus from the Sands to downtown Las Vegas. But bus service was temporarily suspended.

"I don't want to take a cab," the man insisted.

Crosstown commuters faced gridlock with traffic backed up on Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo and Spring Mountain roads. As the parade was passing Flamingo, vehicles were stopped bumper to bumper beyond Intestate 15 to the west and Koval Lane to the east.