* UPDATE: Mission Industries apparently came to the bargaining table this afternoon ready to deal.

The industrial laundry met with the Culinary Union for about an hour today, before the union announced both sides had reached a tentative agreement. Details won’t be known until the deal is ratified by members tomorrow, but initial comments from the Culinary suggest Mission signed on to the union’s health plan.

“We are thrilled that the negotiating committee was able to achieve its goal of making the ‘Las Vegas Dream’ real for laundry workers in Las Vegas,” said Kevin Kline, the union’s lead negotiator in the Mission talks. ” This new contract will ensure that laundry workers in Las Vegas are able to join the rest of the members of the Culinary Union in having a great health plan and a voice on the job. It is great to see Mission Industries setting a new standard for laundry workers in this town.”

The resolution further clears the plate for the Culinary to weigh in with its presidential ndorsement. Union boss D. Taylor had said the endorsement was taking a back seat until contracts were struck with Mission and the Tropicana.

The Democratic presidential candidates might need to add a couple of more items to their preparations list before Thursday night’s debate in Las Vegas: fresh towels and sheets.

The Culinary Union enters its final bargaining session this afternoon with Mission Industries, the industrial laundry that provides 85 percent of the linen used by Las Vegas tourists, and the specter of a strike is on the
horizon.

The union has set a strike deadline of midnight tonight, and Culinary officials say a walkout of 1,600 members could start as early as 3 am Tuesday if bargainers cannot reach agreement. That’s when the first shift of
workers at six plants across the valley normally begins.

The talks are stalled on health care. The union has demanded Mission participate in its health care plan, which covers members and their families at no member expense. The company says the union’s plan costs twice as
much as the one it currently offers, and has spent the better part of the last week negotiating price increases with its casino customers.

Still, both sides are talking tough. About 100 members of the union’s negotiating committee picked up strike T-shirts at the Culinary’s union hall this afternoon.

“We’re not going to do this for 20 hours and then do it again for 20 hours next week,” said Pilar Weiss, the Culinary’s political director. “We all know this is the last negotiating session.”

The labor dispute could end up under the national spotlight as calls filter into Culinary HQ from the national media. For the record, Weiss told CNN to bring sleeping bags.