A third party company will take over some of the food and beverage outlets at the Palms resort, a change a Las Vegas union says threatens the jobs of hundreds of people who currently work there.
Food service company Sodexo will take over some outlets at the resort on Nov. 2. Workers at those outlets will no longer be employed by the Palms, according to a letter from a resort executive dated Aug. 17.
The letter, which was posted to a website affiliated with the parent organization of the Culinary Union Local 226, said the Palms is “working with Sodexo to transition as many people as possible and offer additional options.”
Employees affected by the change can apply to work for Sodexo or for other open positions at the Palms, according to the letter. They can also accept a buyout for leaving their jobs once Sodexo starts.
While the Palms is not unionized, the Culinary — which represents tens of thousands of casino workers in Las Vegas and Reno — said in a statement today that it has been trying to organize employees there and has encountered resistance from management.
The Culinary said more than 220 workers in areas including the buffet, coffee shop and main kitchen stand to be affected by the change.
“The Palms decision to outsource hundreds of positions is disappointing and does not support a strong middle-class economy,” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, the union’s secretary-treasurer, in the statement.
A statement provided by a Palms spokesperson on behalf of the resort stressed that workers affected by the switch will be offered new jobs or “generous severance packages.” It characterized the decision to bring in Sodexo as an ideal one for the resort’s operations.
“Palms looks forward to collaborating with this exceptional culinary brand and expects a superior, quality experience for both our guests and team members,” the resort’s statement said.
The Palms also said it began conversations with Sodexo “early in 2015” and management only became aware of the organizing effort “months later” in June.
The union said it plans to give a petition to the Palms this week that asks the resort to “agree to a fair process which would allow workers to choose whether to unionize.”
In a separate letter dated today, members of Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice wrote to executives with the Palms and its private equity owners in support of the union’s efforts. The Culinary also attempted to appeal to the private equity owners — TPG and Leonard Green & Partners — by stressing that the Cosmopolitan’s private equity owner, Blackstone Group, retained workers when it took over that resort last year.