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CASINO
DEALERS:
Union
wins one, loses one
Dealers reject representation at the MGM Grand,
but approve organizing at the Stratosphere
By
JEFF SIMPSON
lasvegas.com GAMING WIRE
The Transport Workers
Union of America union saw split results from two Saturday votes,
with MGM Grand table games dealers voting 542-189 to reject the
union and Stratosphere dealers voting 116-48 in favor of
representation.
The union's effort to organize Las Vegas dealers has failed at
three properties run by the city's dominant corporate operators --
Mandalay Bay's Monte Carlo, Park Place Entertainment's Las Vegas
Hilton, and MGM Mirage's MGM Grand.
The union's two victories came at properties run by smaller
operators that each owns just one Strip casino, Aztar Corp.'s
Tropicana and Carl Icahn's Stratosphere.
"We may be seeing a stratification of Las Vegas casinos into
two levels of properties," said a casino industry executive
who requested anonymity. "The properties like the
Stratosphere and the Tropicana, with their less-solid positions,
have a tougher time convincing dealers they'll have job security
without the union."
The Bally's and New York-New York elections, slated for Feb. 10
and Feb. 17, respectively, will give the union an opportunity to
reverse its failures at major casinos.
Union officials said they are upbeat about Saturday's results
despite the MGM Grand defeat.
"Two out of five isn't that bad if you think about it,"
TWU organizer Frank Trotti said Sunday. "This is the first
time some of these properties have had a (dealers' representation)
vote."
Strip management has long discouraged efforts to unionize casino
dealers because the properties wanted to maintain control over the
people who handle money at table games.
Some dealers have long opposed unionization, fearing that such a
move would cut into their wages.
But the New York-based union with its roots in that city's mass
transit industry argues that Strip dealers need the protection of
a union contract in Nevada, a right-to-work state, where workers
can be fired at will.
The MGM Grand vote lasted until 2 a.m. Sunday, and the vote count
took about 90 minutes to complete, with the property's 731 voters
constituting the city's biggest dealer workforce.
"Tonight dealers at the MGM Grand reaffirmed that the best
way for them to secure their future is to work closely with our
management team," MGM Grand President Bill Hornbuckle said in
a Sunday statement.
"In addition to being a rejection of the union this vote is,
more importantly, an affirmation that dealers and our management
team work on the same side of the table. The TWU has displayed a
complete lack of understanding of this simple truth."
Before the vote a photocopy of a bogus Wall Street Journal news
story was circulated among MGM dealers, detailing the property's
supposed sale to Harrah's Entertainment.
The union has argued that numerous dealers have lost their jobs
because of casino sales and corporate buyouts.
The photocopy showed a phony 114-word story pasted onto a column
of other short reports that appeared in an actual edition of the
Journal's front page. The bogus item was printed in a different
typeface than the Journal's other items, and contained a number of
errors and inaccuracies.
"MGM GRAND to be spun off in sale to Harrah's Inc. to Las
Vegas," the story began. "MGM MIRAGE is rumored that it
will build a major studio attraction on property adjacent to the
Bellagio. The Bellagio is slated to become the premier hotel and
corporate headquarters."
MGM Mirage officials are reviewing security videotapes to
determine who disseminated the fake story, and plan to forward
their findings to the National Labor Relations Board if they're
able to link the union to the story's circulation.
Tim Grandfield, the union's organizing director, did not return
Sunday phone messages seeking comment, but the TWU's Trotti said
the Stratosphere vote showed that dealers want job security.
"One group at the Stratosphere said they want the security of
a contract, and one group at the MGM said they want to give
management a chance to address their concerns," Trotti said.
Stratosphere officials did not return Sunday calls seeking
comment.
Additional unionization votes are scheduled at the Riviera on Feb.
9, Bally's and New York-New York Feb. 10, the New Frontier on Feb.
23, Excalibur on March 3, and Treasure Island on March 10.
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