By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) -President Joe Biden may join Las Vegas hotel employees on a picket line if they go on strike Monday, a move that would bind the Democrat closely with another group of workers in a 2024 battleground election state, the union’s chief told Reuters.
Workers with the politically influential Nevada Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino have until early Monday to reach an agreement. Failure to do so could mean the workers start a strike.
Biden has committed to joining striking workers if they walk out, Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer and head of the union, said in an interview. Biden will be in Las Vegas on Monday capping two days of political events.
Asked whether Biden will join workers on Monday if they strike, Pappageorge said “there will be opportunities” for Biden to rally with workers, and that Biden was invited to join the picket line.
Company and union negotiators are headed back to the table this evening but their deadline for a deal is Monday morning. The Culinary Union has already reached more than 30 agreements that cover 50,000 workers with other Vegas hotel and casino properties.
Biden’s campaign declined to comment. The campaign and the White House have not yet provided any schedule for Biden on Monday.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Kim Coghill and Gerry Doyle)
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