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Vegas at Odds

Labor Conflict in a Leisure Economy, 1960–1985

James P. Kraft

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The stories of the shadowy networks and wealthy people who bankrolled and sustained Las Vegas's continuous reinvention are well documented in works of scholarship, journalism, and popular culture. Yet no one has studied closely and over a long period of time the dynamics of the workforce—the casino and hotel workers and their relations with the companies they work for and occasionally strike against. James P. Kraft here explores the rise and changing fortunes of organized and unorganized labor as Las Vegas evolved from a small, somewhat seedy desert oasis into the glitzy tourist destination...

The stories of the shadowy networks and wealthy people who bankrolled and sustained Las Vegas's continuous reinvention are well documented in works of scholarship, journalism, and popular culture. Yet no one has studied closely and over a long period of time the dynamics of the workforce—the casino and hotel workers and their relations with the companies they work for and occasionally strike against. James P. Kraft here explores the rise and changing fortunes of organized and unorganized labor as Las Vegas evolved from a small, somewhat seedy desert oasis into the glitzy tourist destination that it is today.

Drawing on scores of interviews, personal and published accounts, and public records, Kraft brings to life the largely behind-the-scenes battles over control of Sin City workplaces between 1960 and 1985. He examines successful and failed organizing drives, struggles over pay and equal rights, and worker grievances and arbitration to show how the resort industry’s evolution affected hotel and casino workers. From changes in the political and economic climate to large-scale strikes, backroom negotiations, and individual worker-supervisor confrontations, Kraft explains how Vegas's overwhelmingly service-oriented economy works—and doesn't work—for the people and companies who cater to the city's pleasure-seeking visitors.

American historians and anyone interested in the history of labor or Las Vegas will find this account highly original, insightful, and even-handed.

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Reviews

In this fast-paced combination of labor and business history (which also includes a mysterious murder), Kraft argues that organized labor in Las Vegas became more, not less, forceful after the mid-1960s, even as union power in other areas was declining.

While other books have delved into the experiences of Las Vegas workers, this is the first exclusively to explore their relationship with management over an extended period of time.

Vegas at Odds is a story specific to Las Vegas but relevant to the broader discussions of economic transitions and labor-management relations.

Putting us right in the thick of the labour movement, Kraft's Vegas at Odds expertly summarizes the changes in Vegas over the past 30 years. In the book, Kraft charts the rise of the everyday 'worker', but more specifically the role of the powerful unions, in Sin City from 1960 to 1985.

This work is a welcome addition to the field of labor relations and labor history... Highly recommended.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
304
ISBN
9780801893575
Illustration Description
24 halftones
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Rise of Corporate Resorts
2. Working in Las Vegas
3. The First Work Stoppages
4. The Struggle for the Casinos
5. Workplace Incidents
6. Fighting for Equal Rights
7. The

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Rise of Corporate Resorts
2. Working in Las Vegas
3. The First Work Stoppages
4. The Struggle for the Casinos
5. Workplace Incidents
6. Fighting for Equal Rights
7. The Spirit of '76
8. Management Digs In, 1982–1984
9. The Strike of 1984–1985
Afterword
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index

Author Bio
James P. Kraft
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James P. Kraft, Ph.D.

James P. Kraft is a professor of US business, labor, and the American West at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. He is the author of Stage to Studio: Musicians and the Sound Revolution, 1890–1950 and Vegas at Odds: Labor Conflict in a Leisure Economy, 1960–1985, and Havoc and Reform: Workplace Disasters in Modern America.
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