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American Morning
Las Vegas Workers on Post-9/11 Tourism
Aired November 08, 2001 - 09:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Since September 11, Americans across the country have struggled to get back to business as usual. But for the tourism industry in Las Vegas, that is easier said than done.
Our Leon Harris has made his way, on his westward adventure, to Glitter Gulch.
Leon, we hope you got a lot of sleep last night.
LEON HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, not quite. But not because we were in the casinos, trust me -- that's a long story, buddy, we will talk about that later.
This is Glitter Gulch, as it is known to those who know about Las Vegas. Things here haven't been all that glittery of late.
Joining us this moring to give us insight on how the city has changed and how it is struggling to get back on its feet economically are some members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, plus one member who is not. Here on the right we have Joyce Lewis (ph), Julie Roberts (ph), and we also have Lula Tuttle (ph) , on the end.
Julie is the panel member who is not in the Union Local 226, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
Here on my left we have Angie Sorano (ph) and the union's CEO Jim Arnold (ph).
Thank you all for coming out here. I assume you don't normally hang out in the middle of the desert at 5:00, 6:00 in the morning. So we appreciate taking time to come and talk to us.
We've been chatting about some of the changes the city is going through. One of the changes we keep hearing about is this idea about how to come back, the hotels and casinos have been cutting all thier prices, and they've been getting a different, different breed of clientele. Is what you have seen as well?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With me, when the guests come, it's like everything is changing. We work harder -- the workload is much harder for us -- and the girls are very tired now, it's not the same as it was before.
HARRIS: So the service isn't quite as good?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The service is there, but it's not up to par that we would like to have it at.
HARRIS: As you like it.
Is that what you've seen as well, Lula (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've seen it in other departments. Sometimes in my department I will have long lines at my booth. I try to smooth it over and be as cheerful as possible, because I'm still glad to see everybody coming today.
HARRIS: What I'm hearing is that the ones you are seeing aren't spending.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they're there. That makes me feel good, just to have them here. Whether they're spending money or not, I'm still getting my paycheck. It's the man on top that's having a problem.
HARRIS: Unfortunately, some of you are not getting your paychecks. The city cut thousands of jobs almost immediately after September 11.
Julie, you lost your job.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
HARRIS: How soon after?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After September 11, we were cut down anywhere from one to three days a week, and then on October 9, we were notified by phone that our positions were eliminated.
HARRIS: So you had almost no notice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Normally, when you quit you give someone two weeks notice. We got two minutes notice, a telephone call, we don't need you anymore. ."
HARRIS: That's what we call a two-minute warning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
HARRIS: How about with you, Angie?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't work that much. I was out for six months' medical leave, and when I finally made it back to work, on September 27, I worked for a week and the day of my birthday, October 1, I got laid off and haven't been working since.
HARRIS: How have you two been getting by since then? What do you do in this town?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, it's collecting unemployment, which is not much. I'm struggling. I'm having a hard time. It's like I put life on hold and my family on hold because there's nothing I can do, because I don't have income coming in.
HARRIS: What about with you, Joyce?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get unemployment, but being a single parent, I had to apply for welfare.
HARRIS: Because you're not in the union either. Doesn't that also have a factor here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Without being in the union, my health insurance runs out tomorrow. And I'm a single parent. I have to think of my son. So...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I'm concerned about is the health benefits for these workers. The service workers need those benefits because most of them have large families. And also, extending the unemployment. I know our government does a great job with other countries and feeding the poor all over the world, but I think we need some federal help, because what happens to these service workers is going to effect not only this community, but all the communities across the country.
HARRIS: Do you think people are staying away because there is still concern about a terrorist attack here? Las Vegas is a symbol of America. It's one people know around the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main thing is we have got to get back to normal life, encourage people. Like Mayor Rudy says, come to the city. Come to our city, the greatest city in the world. It's the safest, I think, that there is. And the airlines are safer than they've ever been before. Come spend money; get these workes back to work.
HARRIS: What kind of comments are you hearing, from those of you that are still working? What kind of comments are you hearing from the clients that do come? Do they express any concerns at all?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They just want to know why it's so slow, where are all the people. I say, The people aren't coming yet, but we're glad to have you here. But when they do come, we make sure that they are comfortable, and we make sure they enjoy their stay.
HARRIS: How long do you think it will be before the city gets back? Would you guess right now it's at -- what level would you say it's compared to pre-September 11: half as much, three-quarters as much, what would you guess?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The numbers are all over the board. It's a little over half. Where it is at, like I say, the neighborhood casinos are up because it's local trade. But the tourists aren't coming back like they were. We have to encourage that, because it is safe.
HARRIS: We will be watching. We understan there is one big convention that is coming into town right now. In fact, it may be the first big one that since September 11, is COMDEX show. That is a show that you would expect normally a quarter million people. I'm sure you are going to be watching your tip levels and how much people spend to see whether or not this is going to be a good sign for the economy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would be a good sign if they come here and bring the other companies with them. After they see COMDEX, then the others might come too.
HARRIS: Bring back the highrollers, not just the lowrollers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And not overwork the workers that are working right now, but bring back these workers that are in layoff status.
HARRIS: We sure appreciate your comments today, and we wish you all luck.
As we said, we have to watch and see what happens with this COMDEX show. it could be a very good barometer to tell whether or not the forecast calls for a rising economic tide here in Las Vegas.
Miles, back to you.
O'BRIEN: Leon, just as an aside, I heard that at the COMDEX show, which is a computer show, they're telling folks not to bring laptop computers. Did you hear about this?
HARRIS: You know something, we haven't talked with anyone who has anything to do with COMDEX show. That's a great point. But I can tell you right now, based upon our experience with the gear that we travel with, we came in just 38 cases. If you have a quarter million people coming in for COMDEX with a quarter million wallets and a quarter 4 million laptops, that's going to cause for quite a snag at the airports. Hopefully, we'll be out of town before that happens.
O'BRIEN: Leon Harris, thanks for dealing us a good hand this morning. We enjoyed the conversation very much.
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