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Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
Culinary Local 226 members picket outside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013.
By Tovin Lapan (contact) 
Published Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 | 2:13 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 | 4:40 p.m.
Several hundred people picketed Thursday in front of the Cosmopolitan, where workers say ownership has failed to come to the negotiating table prepared to discuss larger contract issues such as seniority and health care.
The Culinary Union Local 226 organized the protest, the first time the union has picketed a Strip property in a decade, to spur Cosmopolitan owners Deutsche Bank to accelerate negotiations, union representatives said.
Workers at the Cosmopolitan chose to unionize via a card check 18 months ago, representatives of the Culinary Union said, and while negotiations have covered what the union considers to be more minor issues, the more substantive talks have yet to occur.
“We feel we have been negotiating for long enough and now is the time to get a contract,” said Chris Eck, a server at the Cosmopolitan. “We’ve agreed on small issues, but we still need to discuss guaranteed work weeks, health care benefits and other matters.”
Eck said he was on a company health plan that deducts payments from his check, but he lost that health coverage because his hours slipped just below the 30 hours per week average needed each quarter to qualify for the plan.
“With a union contract we would have guaranteed work weeks, and I would have the option of paying to make up the difference in my hours so I would still get health coverage,” Eck said.
Picketers turned out between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday, and another protest was scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. As the crowd grew, two picket lines formed, one on the sidewalk passing in front of the Cosmopolitan and one in a lane of Las Vegas Boulevard that was closed off by Metro Police.
Eventually picketers stood on the pedestrian bridge at Harmon and Las Vegas Boulevard where onlookers also gathered to see what was happening.
Picketers carried signs that said “No Justice, No Peace” in English on one side and Spanish on the other side. The protesters chanted, beat drums and occasionally received support from honking motorists headed down Las Vegas Boulevard.
Protesters also handed out orange fliers in English and Spanish that outlined some of the workers’ grievances. The flier compared the “union standard” to conditions at the Cosmopolitan. The Culinary Union is fighting for language in the contract that clearly stipulates a housekeeper’s workload and expectations, full health care coverage, a guaranteed work week, protections for seniority and if the property changes ownership, a pension plan and other provisions.
“I love my job, but I want what everybody else gets,” said Michelle DiManso, a cashier at the Cosmopolitan’s Wicked Spoon. “I believe they’ve been stalling when it comes to addressing the big issues.”
Reached for comment, the Cosmopolitan referenced a previously issued statement.
"We understand that it is the union's right to picket," Amy Rossetti, Cosmopolitan vice president of public relations, said in a statement. "The Cosmopolitan has been negotiating in good faith and will continue to do so."
Suzan Jorgensen, who was in town from Michigan for a convention and was staying at Mandalay Bay, said she would not go to the Cosmopolitan because of the protest.
“It’s important how you treat your workers,” Jorgensen, a union member herself, said. “They have families too, and these employees are the backbone of these businesses. If they have voted to join the union, they should get the same deal as other Strip workers get.”
The Cosmopolitan is one of the few Strip properties where workers do not currently have a contract. The only Strip, or near-Strip, casinos where the Culinary Union does not represent workers are the Quad, the Palazzo, the Venetian, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the Palms. Workers at those resorts have not asked to join the union.
The last time the Culinary Union picketed on the Strip was 2003, when it was locked in negotiations with the former Aladdin, which is now Planet Hollywood.
The Culinary Union is the largest in Nevada, representing 60,000 members including housekeeping, food and beverage and other service staff.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas dares to be different. From the hotel’s red reservations desks to fine art found throughout the resort, The Cosmopolitan’s signature style is helping to pave its own path on the Las Vegas Strip.
Upon entering the resort, you’re greeted by pillars of video boards playing video art by Digital Kitchen and David Rockwell Studio exclusively produced for The Cosmopolitan. Just beyond that, you’ll find all your favorite casino games on the resort’s 100,000-square-foot casino floor.
The Cosmopolitan’s rooms standout as the resort’s most unique feature. About 2,220 of The Cosmopolitan’s 2,995 rooms have 6-foot deep terraces that span the length of the room, a first at a modern Strip hotel. Other in-room amenities include soaking tubs, kitchenettes and quirky accessories like artsy coffee table books.
The dining experience at The Cosmopolitan isn’t something you’ll find at other Strip resorts, either. All of The Cosmopolitan’s 13 restaurateurs are new to the Las Vegas market. You’ll find American steakhouse fare in a modern setting at STK, top-notch sushi at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill and the freshest fish flown in from the Mediterranean daily at Estiatorio Milos.
Whether the sun is up or down, Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub is the place to find the party at The Cosmopolitan. The venue is a dayclub/nightclub, complete with a pool and cabanas outside and three different rooms with three different vibes inside.
If nightclubs aren’t your thing, you can grab a drink at one of The Cosmopolitan’s five other bars, like The Chandelier, which is encased in 2 million dripping crystals.
"Workers at the Cosmopolitan chose to unionize via a card check 18 months ago ..." - from the story
I thought a secret ballot election was required to begin union representation.
A picket line? Now that's anachronistic. Given the demographic of the Cosmopolitan, it will mean little, if anything, to those driving past it.
Hope those driving passed the picket line can read spanish.
No Abla,No Job! No Abla, No Job!
A Bartender is worth $18/hr, plus Medical/Dental/Vision for his wife & offspring?
Get Real Union-Lovers.
The tenured union employees know absolutely that short of slicing a patron with their lime-peeling knife, they can provide the most most meager of bar service and retain their position. Been to a Union hotel-bar lately? Pay attention next time you do...
Maybe they should go to work in a Country where people can read their signs... They 'might' have better luck there huh?
BTW, I'll take one of those jobs! I have to work out of State to survive... I'd like to be at my home in LV!
Comment removed by moderator. Name Calling
Unions are unfortunately necessary. It would be nice if companies were completely honest and fair with their employees but they never are which is why having a union and a contract is vital to maintain fairness in the workplace. Some of you are saying a bartender is not worth $18 an hour or another union worker is not worth what they are getting paid. That is a matter of opinion. Are CEO's worth the multi-millions they get paid? In my opinion, they are not. There is too large a pay gap between what normal workers get paid and what people in upper management get paid. We all live in America. This is not a third world country were the prices of most things are cheap. The cost of living in America is very expensive and workers deserve to make enough money to be able to support their families and buy what is needed. The cost of inflation over the last 20 years has gone up 53%. The average annual salary over the last 20 years has gone up only 46%. So no matter how "overpaid" you believe workers to be, they are still not getting paid enough to even keep up with inflation which is wrong.
There are other places to go.
And if this is how the workers treat those who are on vacation, then people should just go else where and never return.
There is no heart for those who are staying here...
and the workers whine....when they have jobs.
They could easily join the 21 million unemployed or no longer looking for a job.
And perhaps they should.
Companies are honest with their employeees
Its the unions that hurt seniors with their outrage and hatred towards everyone - always demanding us to pay more taxes to support the dirt bag union bosses.
The whole world is watching (and they don't care)
"Unions are unfortunately necessary."
Tell that to those who worked for Hostess, and organized themselves out of a job.
How large is union cash reserve? Is it used for employees whole fully.
Without the article I wouldn't have a clue what the signs said. Now, if they were in German, that I could read!
Demand more expenses from a business that's not profitable? Yeah right, that's a recipe for success. (pun intended)
The signs should read "More Pay & Benefits, Less Jobs."
I am glad to see the union activists on a picket line. It warms my heart that people care enough to make a public stand.
I sort of avoid the strip, except the Gelato/Fountains/Floral display at Bellagio about 4 times a year.
If the owners of the Cosmopolitan take good care of the union folks, I would part with some of my republican (Unearned) money and visit there.
My friends who work at the Cosmo haven't received raises since the casino has opened. Granted they make a lot more than the average employee off the Strip. It's unfortunate that the union is needed to insure employees are paid enough to keep from having to work 2-3 jobs.
It's also utterly disgusting that employers think $10/hour is enough for anyone to live off of, even at 40 hours a week.
I am sick of the unions. With so many out of work, they need to shut up and consider what is at stake for the owners of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Deutsche Bank took a huge gamble completing the foreclosed property left by the Eichners. They could have left the place standing vacant like the Echelon and Fountainbleu leaving another ugly blight on our skyline. Instead they chose to sink even more money into this behemoth spending far too much money to get a return from the property any time in the near future. To sum it up, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will probably not pay for itself for another 20 years if they are real lucky! Give the people at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas some credit for giving the city a very nice hotel and for not leaving another mess on our skyline. The employees need to be thankful for jobs and chip in and help the owners of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas!
@nevadajak: You'll read posts here that defame the Cosmo for not bucking up to the union. Problem is that they didn't use thier cash and take the chance. Never ceases to amaze me how these people expect more but don't have the nerve to take that kind of chance.
Check out the story about Harrisburg, Penn. where the bottom has literally fallen out. The city has 20 sinkholes and it can't afford to fix them because it is bankrupt, partly because of union pension obligations. Sorry picketers, the casino didn't tell you guys to have families. Deutsche Bank wishes that it had never financed the Cosmo and the last thing they are worried about are your credit card bills, the cost of gas, or the fact that your kid wants an Xbox 360.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...
They should be lucky to have jobs. If they are so unhappy then please quit and give the opportunity to someone else. If it had not been for the German bank to take ownership this place would have been an unfinished building. There are plenty of good people out of work and the picketers should realize that they can be replaced in a New York minute.
@ James_P_Reza
It was fair for Hostess management to keep giving themselves raises while crying the blues about being broke and needing the workers to give up more pay after they had done so numerous times already?
"And if this is how the workers treat those who are on vacation, then people should just go else where and never return."
I do not understand this comment. You were treated bad by workers on the picket line?
Having worked for a non union casino and now a union casino I can assure you it is a night and day difference and unions are absolutely still necessary! Worth every penny!
At Hard Rock (non union) my boss would call me stupid almost every day. They would not respect seniority and would change my days off and sometimes have me work 10 hour shifts with no meal or bathroom breaks.
I was happy to have a job but the stress was awful for my health.
I'm union now and staffing is appropriate and management is classy.