LAS VEGAS (AP) — The union representing 50,000 Las Vegas casino employees whose contracts will expire at the end of the month announced Wednesday the workers are set to vote on whether to strike, a move that could cripple the city.

The Culinary Union will hold the strike vote May 22 at a university arena near the Las Vegas Strip. A majority of yes votes would allow the union's negotiators to call for a strike at any time starting June 1.

"On May 22, thousands of union members will show casino employers that workers are going to fight for security and that they are not going to be left behind as companies are making record profits and getting windfall tax breaks," Geoconda Arguello-Kline, the union's secretary-treasurer, said in a statement.