Las Vegas GP runs into massive trouble weeks ahead of its inauguration as Culinary Workers Union threatens strike
The Las Vegas GP has encountered some difficulties only two weeks before the race is scheduled to take place.
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Protestors call for a peaceful strike ahead of Las Vegas GP (via Twitter)
As the Brazilian GP has come to an end, the F1 circus will soon be well on its way to visit the Sin City for the most anticipated race of this year–the Las Vegas GP. Projected to be the most expensive race in F1 history, the first edition of the Grand Prix on the Vegas strip will hopefully catapult Formula 1’s fame in the United States. The Las Vegas GP is being viewed as the FIA’s brainchild to take over the market across the pond as they are striving to rid F1 of its ‘for Europeans only’ tag.
But there has already been too much trouble surrounding the Vegas race. The local authorities and the FOM have clashed on more than one occasion regarding the logistics that have to be arranged for such a huge project. Only a few days ago, the local shopowners and casino managers protested against the construction of the race circuit as they were losing customers because of the road blocks that have been put in place. And now, another protest has arisen as it threatens to cancel the Las Vegas GP only two weeks before it is actually scheduled.
The Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas has said that the 35,000 culinary workers under them who are working on the Vegas strip might go on strike any time now. This uprising is supposed to call out the miserable salaries of those workers whose contracts have actually already expired and have not been renewed with better terms. With the Las Vegas GP having been scheduled, all the hotel prices have skyrocketed, yet the meagre pay of the cooks, waiters, etc. has remained the same.
The Culinary Workers Union demands a share in the ‘million-dollar profits’ of the hotels ahead of Las Vegas GP
Each of the F1 Grands Prix that are held at exotic locations all around the world are like tiny universes in themselves. They provide employment to thousands of workers outside of the team personnel who are permanently recruited under the teams. In case of the most expensive F1 race ever–the Las Vegas GP–the numbers have been astonishing. The hotel prices have skyrocketed and it is no surprise that their owners are making millions of dollars of profit due to the race that is scheduled on November 19.
But the workers who are employed under the owners of the high-rise hotels are still having to work on their previous contract terms with below-average salaries. Tedd Pappageorge, secretary/treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union commented on this.
The casino companies have made some moves, but we are millions of dollars apart. The workers want to share in the million-dollar profits that these establishments will have, considering that they are a key part of them. They also understand that the event will mean a significant overload of work and a decrease in safety conditions at work, even this will affect the cleaning staff.
But the highlight is that the VIP Club that the Liberty Media have set up for the Las Vegas GP will still run smoothly since their workers have been recruited on better terms. But it remains to be seen if the strike somehow hampers the experience of the sountless fans who have been anticipating an evening of a lifetime in Vegas for the F1 Grand Prix in Sin City.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)