Workers at a half dozen Strip hotel-casinos overwhelmingly approved a new five-year contract Wednesday, apparently ending the threat of a gaming industry strike that could have dampened the city's economy.
Members of Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 ratified agreements by a vote of 4,378 to 130. The six separate contracts, negotiated jointly, provided for a $1.25-an- hour wage increase, a 95-cent-an-hour boost to health and welfare pension funds, tightened job security, a modest union-management job training program, and a green light for unions to organize new casinos scheduled to open in the near future.The contracts cover more than 10,000 employees at Circus Circus, the Tropicana, Bally's, Caesars Palace, the Las Vegas Hilton and the Flamingo Hilton.