
Morgan Sperry is a student at Harvard Law School and also serves as OnLabor's Social Media Director.
In today’s news and commentary, Las Vegas culinary workers prepare to strike and SAG-AFTRA offers Halloween costume guidance.
Forty thousand members of Las Vegas’s Culinary Workers Union Local 226—including guest room attendants, kitchen workers, bell men, laundry, cooks, servers, and porters—have been working without a contract since September 15 and are prepared to strike for the first time in 39 years. Workers at 18 hotels and resorts owned by MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Encore Resorts are seeking raises and reduced hours. Vegas room rates have risen 95 percent while there has been an 11 percent decrease in resort industry jobs since 2019, forcing people to work more without a share of the resorts’ rewards. Workers without a contract held practice pickets down the strip last week to signal their preparedness to strike.
As Halloweekend approaches, SAG-AFTRA has instructed its members (many of whom are active content creators) not to post pictures of themselves dressed as characters from major productions, which could be perceived as promoting struck work. Despite pushback from some major stars (Ryan Reynolds tweeted “I look forward to screaming ‘scab’ at my 8 year old all night. She’s not in the union but she needs to learn”), the guild continues to encourage its members to stick with generic costumes (“ghost, zombie, or spider”) this year rather than specific characters, like Barbie.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
December 5
Starbucks limits mobile ordering after unions fight understaffing; UAW eyes non-union automakers; House Democrats call for investigation of Los Angeles hotels
December 3
UAW calls for ceasefire, Massachusetts considers collective bargaining law for rideshare drivers
December 1
Emory Ph.D. student workers unionize; Senate fails to advance Biden’s ETA pick; and Starbucks violates labor law in Portland.
November 29
New investor network for workers' rights; Amazon workers at largest air hub file unfair labor practice charge; Czech labor unions stage protests to oppose budget cuts.
November 28
New York plaintiffs file workplace sexual assault claims before the Adult Survivors Act deadline, the NLRB dismisses claims that Tesla illegally fired workers for union activity, and voters across party lines express support for federal paid leave.
November 27
Black Friday strikes took place around the world - Amazon workers in over 30 countries walk out; Four hundred Macy’s workers begin a three-day strike; Portland’s teachers union reaches a tentative deal