Political organizers and casino managers encouraged their workers to stay at Nevada’s Democratic caucuses until they finish in order to accommodate long lines at caucus sites.
“Could be a problem at Caesars. Lines not moving and folks need to get back to work,” tweeted Yvanna Cancela, the political director for the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 shortly after 12 PM PST.
The general manager of Caesars, Sean McBurney, told workers to stay for the entire caucus and not leave early to get back to work.
“I will take the heat from your bosses,” he said.
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign pushed, through the Culinary Workers Union, for the Las Vegas Strip’s casinos to offer paid time off to employees looking to caucus Saturday.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid also played a key role in pressing casino management for time off, a Reid adviser told CNN.
Reid made calls to casino owners over the last couple weeks, urging them to let workers have PTO for caucusing today.
A number of Caesars employees told CNN as they walked into their hotel’s caucus that getting the time off was helpful for them to come out and back Clinton over Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Gabriella, a maid at Caesars who only provided CNN her first name, said that the paid time off made her more likely to come caucus for Clinton as she took her seat.
“It helped, yes,” she said. “I told my manager I was going, he said sign this and told me to go. It helped.”