Casino Workers OK Contracts: Workers at six...

Casino Workers OK Contracts: Workers at six of Nevada’s largest hotel-casinos ratified new five-year contracts by a near-unanimous vote, apparently ending the threat of a crippling gaming industry strike that would have dampened a booming Las Vegas economy. Members of Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 ratified agreements, by a vote of 4,378 to 130, with Circus Circus, the Tropicana, Bally’s, Caesars Palace, the Las Vegas Hilton and the Flamingo Hilton. The contracts provided for a $1.25-an-hour wage increase over the life of the contract, a 95-cent-an-hour boost to health and welfare pension funds and tightened job security.