The Latest: Unionized MGM workers in Las Vegas OK contract

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on the ratification of a contract covering unionized workers of MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas (all times local):

8:40 p.m.

Housekeepers, bartenders, cooks, bellmen and other unionized workers of casino-resorts operated by MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas have approved a new contract.

A vote to ratify the five-year agreement Tuesday put an end the possibility of a strike at those properties.

The deal covers 24,000 members of the Culinary Union employed at several properties on the Las Vegas Strip, including The Mirage, Luxor and Aria.

Bellagio housekeeper Lupe Avelar says she was happy to see that MGM agreed to an independent study, paid jointly with the union, to analyze the workload of housekeepers.

The union has argued that hotel rooms have changed significantly, in size and amenities, since the last study was conducted.

The contract includes wage increases in each of the five years, and for the first time, paid bereavement leave.

___

3 p.m.

Thousands of unionized workers at Las Vegas casino-resorts operated by MGM Resorts International are deciding whether to approve a new five-year contract.

The agreement up for a vote Tuesday includes wage increases and stronger protections against sexual harassment for 24,000 bartenders, housekeepers, food servers and other members of the Culinary Union.

Francis Garcia has been a housekeeper at the MGM Grand for 11 years. She says she voted in favor of approving the contract because it includes protections for immigrants like her who are allowed to live and work in the U.S. under temporary protective status.

If approved, the agreement would cover workers employed at several properties, including Bellagio, Aria, MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.

The workers earlier had threatened to strike over the lack of progress in contract negotiations.