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LAS
VEGAS SUN
August 07, 2001
Second
union to organize Las Vegas casino dealers
By David Strow
<strow@lasvegassun.com>
LAS VEGAS SUN
A year ago no one was
willing to take on the Herculean task of organizing Las Vegas'
casino dealers. Now
dealers find themselves with competing groups vying for their
attention.
The National Federation of Gaming Employees, a 12-year-old
advocacy group for the state's dealers, is attempting to convert
itself into an international union. The International Union of
Gaming Employees, as it's now called, will primarily target casino
dealers -- not only in Nevada, but across the country when there's
interest.
The NFGE worked
off-and-on with the Transport Workers Union during its own
organizing campaign several months ago. The TWU prevailed in just
three of 11 elections on the Strip, and is now trying to negotiate
contracts at the Tropicana, the Stratosphere and the New Frontier.
"We still want
them to succeed," said Jack Lipsman, vice president of the
IUGE. "But we have a little different attitude. They were
focusing only on the large places. We're going to focus on all
places ... whether it's Arizona Charlie's, Sam's Town or Caesars
Palace."
Lipsman argued that
the leadership of his organization had something the TWU didn't
have -- the experience of being a Nevada casino dealer.
"I think we have
a very good handle on what the dealers need, which is not to
criticize the TWU," Lipsman said. "We had to stand
behind the tables, breathe the (secondhand) smoke, take the abuse.
No one in the TWU had to do that. We can speak to the dealers in
their own language."
This was precisely the
same line many "union-busters" used during the TWU
campaign -- that the TWU didn't truly understand dealer concerns.
It's a claim the TWU says isn't a valid one.
"The dealers are
the union ... it's not about the TWU," said Frank Trotti, a
TWU organizer. "That's not a fair shot." Trotti said the
IUGE lacks two things his union does have -- money and a track
record.
"We're an AFL-CIO
union, over 70 years old, we're financially strong, and we had a
tough time (organizing dealers)," Trotti said. "I don't
know if these organizations (the casinos) take this group
seriously. They go after people with a vengeance. You've got to
have some background, that you know how to get a contract. If you
don't know this game, you're going to get eaten alive."
Talks at the three
casinos where the TWU prevailed, Trotti said, have been "very
constructive," and the union is building organizing
committees at other properties in town.
"We'd like to see
something before the year ... at least know where we're at,"
Trotti said. "We're moving as quickly as we can."
Though it's not
affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the IUGE has affiliated itself with
the International Federation of Employees and Professionals of
Gaming, Entertainment, Recreation, Leisure and Allied Activities,
an international labor organization formed in May out of Buenos
Aires, Argentina.
"The organization
in Argentina will support us (financially)," Lipsman said.
"When we get our goals in order, and we get a plan of action,
we can talk about money."
Besides, with its
existing network of 4,000 dealers, the IUGE can launch campaigns
"on the cheap," Lipsman said.
"The TWU had a
problem of presence. We don't have that problem," Lipsman
said. "In that sense, I think we can establish credibility
(with dealers)."
Dealers remain
interested in organizing in Las Vegas, said Marty Levitt, a Las
Vegas union consultant. But he doesn't think either the TWU or the
IUGE is the group to do it.
"Dealers are
skeptical now, because they saw what happened (during the TWU
campaign)," Levitt said. "I just don't think, without
serious dollars and organizers, that this international union
would be the likely one (to organize dealers). I don't see it with
the TWU, unless they get a miraculous contract."
Instead, Levitt
believes either the Teamsters or the Steelworkers union will
eventually pick up the flag of organizing dealers in Las Vegas.
But it will have to be a committed effort, he said.
"A union that is
effective at organizing doesn't (rely) solely on the individual
organizers. They succeed by building committees within the
properties, and these committees consist of dealers who are just
as seasoned and savvy as Jack and Tony Badillo, (president of the
IUGE).
"(A successful
campaign) will take millions of dollars. I'm not talking about
pocket change."
This story is
located at:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2001/aug/07/512184590.html
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