Days after the end of 2023, a year that saw a surge in workers on the picket line and big wins for labor unions, Vice President Kamala Harris and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su joined hospitality workers at Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Las Vegas on Wednesday to mark the union’s new contact agreement. 

“I do strongly believe that the strength of our nation depends on the strength of working people,” Harris told workers in attendance on Wednesday. “The strength of working people is the backbone of the strength of our nation.”

In November, Culinary Union members in Las Vegas voted to approve contract agreements with Caesars Entertainment, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International, ending months of labor disputes that had brought the threat of a historic strike to the Strip.

In a statement following the approvals, Ted Pappageorge, the union’s chief negotiator said the new contracts marked historic pay raises and other major wins for the union, including housekeeping workload reductions and improved job security amid advancements in technology.

Harris on Wednesday called the pay raises “long overdue.”

“I think that it's not only going to be about what you've done for your own members,” Harris said. “You guys are setting a new standard for workers across the board. You're setting a new standard.”

“The Biden-Harris administration is going to keep on saying loud and clear that unions make America strong and when workers do well, America does better,” Su declared. 

President Joe Biden has long sought to align himself with workers and has dubbed himself as “the most pro-union president” in American history. 

Biden is believed to have become the first modern U.S. president to join workers on strike when he stood with auto workers on the picket line in September amid the United Auto Workers strike. 

“We have a president and a vice president who are not just watching this happen, but who are using every lever to promote and support it,” Su said. “They know that union is not a bad word.”

The Culinary Union’s threat to strike added to a big year for labor unions in 2023, including walkouts in Hollywood that ground the film and television industries to a historic halt, UPS’ contentious negotiations that threatened to disrupt the nation’s supply chain, and the hotel workers strike at Detroit’s three casinos, including MGM Grand Detroit.

Su closed her remarks on Wednesday telling Las Vegas workers 2024 will be “the best year yet.”

“Workers had a big year in 2023. And now it's 2024. And we are going to keep on reimagining what is possible for workers,” Su said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report