Las Vegas is very much a union town. In September, after decades of work from UNITE HERE’s Culinary Workers Union, hotels and restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip officially became 100% unionized, drawing a celebratory visit from Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and winning a historic wage increase for 4,000 workers at the Venetian Resort. 

Just off the Strip, another iconic Vegas workforce just went public with their plans to make a little labor history of their own. The Chippendales — the world’s most famous male revue — have added another accessory to their trademark cuffs and collar: a union card. 

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After Godinez moved to Las Vegas, he found a job as a bartender, and through that was introduced to the Culinary Union. He became a member, and his union education advanced rapidly from there. When he landed at the Rio, Godinez says, he could immediately tell that something wasn’t quite right.