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Wednesday,
January 17, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Defeated
dealers union files objection in Monte Carlo election
By
TREVOR HAYES
REVIEW-JOURNAL
A prospective casino dealers union filed an objection
Tuesday accusing the Monte Carlo of "blatant violations of
federal (labor) law" prior to a union representation election
it lost Saturday.
The union objection claims the Monte Carlo threatened
"to eliminate the dealers' jobs if they voted in favor of the
union."
Tim Grandfield, director of organizing for Transport
Workers Union of America, Tuesday said, "Within a 24-hour
period (prior to the election) they (Monte Carlo management) went
up to the dealers individually, telling them they were going to
close the pits down and they would be out of a job Monday."
He said the violations were to blame for the union losing
Saturday's election by a 3-to-1 margin after 86 percent of the
Monte Carlo's dealers signed cards authorizing the election.
Michael Chavez, resident officer of the National Labor
Relations Board's Las Vegas office, said if the labor board sides
with the union following an investigation then a new election
could be ordered.
John Marz, senior vice president of marketing for Mandalay
Resort Group, the Monte Carlo's managing co-owner, dismissed the
union's objections.
"Anytime a union loses an election by the wide margin
that they did, they are going to come up with any excuses they
possibly can to save face," Marz said.
The union's objection centers around a two-page letter that
Grandfield alleges was circulated in the casino's pits the day of
the election.
The letter is written as two mock news stories following a
hypothetical union victory in Saturday's election.
The first story, dated two days after the election, says
the Monte Carlo closed its table games as a show of strength to
deter other Las Vegas dealers from voting for the union.
The second mock story then says that the Monte Carlo's
action was successful, with dealers at just one other casino
voting for the union in subsequent elections. The mock article
goes on to state that, as a show of thanks from management,
dealers at the casinos that voted against unionizing were given
pay raises and additional benefits.
The second story goes on to talk about how most of the
Monte Carlo dealers were forced to leave town because no other
casino wanted to hire union sympathizers.
"There was somebody drafting that letter. That letter
was not from a dealer," Grandfield said. "I believe
someone from Monte Carlo put it out. A dealer can't shut down a
casino; management shuts down a casino."
Marz said he had seen the letter in question, given to him
by a member of the news media, and his company didn't know who
wrote or distributed it. He said he did not know if copies of the
letter were in the casino's pit Saturday.
The Transport Workers union has elections scheduled at
eight more casinos and has petitioned for elections at three
others.
"It's (the loss) a setback, but we fully intend to
organize the dealers in Las Vegas," Grandfield said.
Two other Mandalay casinos, Excalibur and Luxor, are among
those the union has petitioned for election.
"Each property is independent but obviously our
employees, and we thank them for their support, at the Monte Carlo
rejected the union. And we hope that will transcend into other
hotels in town," Marz said.
* * *
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story is located at:
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jan-17-Wed-2001/business/15246060.html
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