Hotel housekeepers in Las Vegas are calling for more workplace protection and want to be given panic buttons.
The Culinary Union, which represents about 14,000 housekeepers who work in Las Vegas Strip and downtown hotels, has requested panic buttons as a bargaining tool in pay negotiations.
The contracts of up to 50,000 union members, including housekeepers, cooks and bartenders expire at the end of May 2018.
"We want safety for all the workers. We want to have some language in the contract to protect more of the people who work inside the hotels . We know what’s going on with sexual harassment. No woman should have to go through that," said Geoconda Argüello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of the union.
The union gave no figures for the extent of the abuse suffered by housekeepers on the job, however several attacks of sexual and physical abuse of hotel staff have been reported recent years
Chicago City Council passed an ordinance last year requiring hotels to provide panic buttons to housekeepers who work alone.
That ordinance is due to take effect from next summer.
