[toc]Three months after the Culinary Union announced a national boycott of President-elect Donald Trump, the group has finally reached a deal with Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
Boycott came after Trump reps refused to negotiate
The union announced the boycott in September after nine months of trying to negotiate a contract for Trump International Hotel employees with no success.
The hotel’s workers voted to join the union in December 2015. The vote was a close one, passing by a margin of 238-209. The vote passed, but no contract for the hotel’s staff could come to fruition.
Representatives for the hotel would not even come to the bargaining table to discuss a contract. After months of no communication, the union resorted to a boycott.
Labor unions did not back Trump campaign
The Vegas Culinary Union is part of a larger labor group called UNITE HERE. That group endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in June. The union group was joined in the September boycott by the AFL-CIO.
“[Trump’s] unwillingness to bargain with the hard-working people who make his hotel successful is shameful,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka when the boycott was announced.
The boycott continued through the campaign and included a number of public protests and demonstrations on Trump properties. It is worth noting Nevada went to Clinton during the election. This is the third presidential election in a row Nevada has gone Democrat.
Traditionally Nevada is thought of as a red state. The Culinary Union is one of the strongest unions in the Silver State. Some have suggested the boycott played a role in the state swinging in Clinton’s direction.
New contract good for four years
The National Labor Relations Board ordered Trump Hotel to negotiate in November. A month later a deal was reached.
The new contract will go into effect in January 2017 and last for four years. The new deal will result in higher wages, family care, and increased job security for the nearly 500 employees at the Las Vegas property.
News for workers at Trump’s DC hotel, too
The Vegas Trump property was not the only hotel of the president-elect making news on the labor front this week.
The newly opened Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. announced it would allow orderly organizations of employees on site to meet and discuss future labor unions for the property.
Said Eric Danziger, CEO of Trump Hotels, in a statement from UNITE HERE:
“UNITE HERE Local 25 is an important partner in Washington, D.C. We share mutual goals with the Union, as we both desire to ensure outstanding jobs for the employees, while also enabling the hotel to operate successfully in a competitive environment, and to establish a reputation as one of the finest hotels in the world.”
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