The union that represents thousands of Nevada casino workers said on Friday that its members and their families are getting hit hard by the COVID-19 flare-up in the state. And it wants state officials and industry executives to take measures to protect them.
The Culinary Union said in a release that since March 22 of its workers or their family members have succumbed to COVID-19. Since Gov. Steve Sisolak allowed casinos to reopen on June 4, the number of union members or their spouses and dependents hospitalized with the virus has gone from five to 43 as of July 16.
Sara Kalaoram’s mom works as a guest room attendant at The Cosmopolitan. In a statement from The Culinary Union, she said her mom has been in a hospital for nearly a week and cannot breathe on her own.
She was exposed to someone who had COVID-19 at work,” Kalaoram said. “Now, my dad, my younger teenage brother, and I are all positive for COVID-19 and we are really worried. I’ve watched my mom’s health get worse everyday since early July when she got the positive test, and it’s hard for my family because we can’t even visit my mom in the hospital right now.”
In all, more than 350 union members or their spouses and dependents have been hospitalized because of the virus.
Second Special Session on Hold
Earlier this month, union officials called on Sisolak to include the Adolfo Fernandez Bill as part of a special session. The legislation, named in honor of a Vegas casino worker who died from COVID-19, would require casinos to enhance their cleaning procedures, enforce social distancing guidelines, test workers for the virus, and develop action plans for workers who contract the virus or have been exposed to someone with it.
Sisolak ordered the legislature into a special session on July 8, but that was just to deal with a $1.2 billion shortfall. That session was likely to conclude Sunday evening as lawmakers finalized an agreement on making the ends meet.
Initially, the plan was for Sisolak to call lawmakers immediately back for a second session that would take up such issues as worker safety. However, on Sunday afternoon, the governor announced a change of plans.
With the number of COVID-19 cases rising in the state, Sisolak said in a statement that he didn’t want lawmakers to gather for 12 days or more. While the delay will give his administration time to deal with the spike in cases, he also would like for legislative leaders to hash out issues like worker safety, the state unemployment program, and election reforms with his office during that time as well.
“My goal is still to issue a proclamation for a second special session, but I will only do so when I am confident the legislature, in coordination with my office, has fully review all policy items and is ready to conduct a thorough, organized, and efficient second session,” Sisolak said. “This is the responsible decision to make in order to protect the time needed to address the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.”
Union Lawsuit May Get Split
Late last month, the union, on behalf of its members who work at Las Vegas Strip casinos, filed a lawsuit against a Caesars Entertainment casino and two MGM Resorts International properties claiming they did not protect union employees from a hazardous work environment.
Now, it appears the federal lawsuit may get split in two. On July 1, MGM filed a motion to either dismiss it from the suit or sever the cases and claimed that the union did not meet the legal standard for joining the defendants since the case needs to relate to the same transaction or series of actions.
“There is no more commonality here than three people who each are involved in separate automobile accidents on different dates yet happen to drive the same make and model of car,” the MGM motion stated.
Last week, the union filed a response to saying it had no issues with severing the cases but objected to the motion to dismiss, saying it will work “zealously” to protect members.
MGM and the Culinary Union do have an arbitration session with MGM that’s slated to start Tuesday, and that may address the issues the union listed in its suit.
The post Nevada Gov. Sisolak Delays Call for Special Session as Culinary Union Maintains Push for COVID-19 Casino Worker Protections appeared first on Casino.org.
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