Katherine Valotoro

Las Vegas workers picketing The Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas, Jan. 31, 2014. Thousands, from The Cosmo and other union hotels, have regularly been picketing demanding better compensation and benefits.

Las Vegas maids are taking on The Strip’s hottest hotel

Nevada’s unemployment rate peaked during the Great Recession at 14 percent. A lot of people looking for work were immigrants: the maids, line cooks, and blackjack dealers who keep the Nevada tourism industry afloat. Now with the Nevada economy picking up, many of those workers want more job security and better pay. They want to be in a union. But it’s not coming easy for some.Nevada’s unemployment rate peaked during the Great Recession at 14 percent. A lot of people looking for work were immigrants: the maids, line cooks, and blackjack dealers who keep the Nevada tourism industry afloat. Now with the Nevada economy picking up, many of those workers want more job security and better pay. They want to be in a union. But it’s not coming easy for some.