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'Union
busters' effective
March 12, 2001
By David Strow
<strow@lasvegassun.com>
LAS VEGAS SUN
When the Transport
Workers Union began gathering authorization cards from dealers
along the Strip, the union appeared to have a huge majority of
dealers backing it at the 12 properties where it filed for
elections. But at most properties, that lead evaporated.
When asked why, the
union and its allies point to a small army of labor consultants
brought in by the casinos -- a group known in union parlance as
"union busters."
All properties facing
a TWU election held some mandatory dealer meetings to discuss the
issue, some as often as several times a week. Companies aren't
permitted by labor law to directly urge employees to vote against
the union, though they can present information that can help sway
votes.
Marty Levitt was a
so-called union buster before aligning with organized labor. One
tactic he says is commonly used is to make the vote a referendum
on confidence on management.
"You don't pay
these consultants millions of dollars if they're not able to turn
things on a dime," Levitt said. "At some point, they
make it so personal. The more time they're given to saturate
people ... they overwhelm them."
Though tactics varied
by property, the consultants used two primary arguments to try to
sway dealers -- one, that the TWU didn't understand dealer issues;
and two, that management would be responsive to solving dealer
concerns about pay and working conditions.
These arguments proved
persuasive among many dealers.
"We not only
voted against this union, we voted in favor of (New York-New York
president) Felix Rappaport and the company we work for," said
New York-New York dealer Karel Smith. "We decided to put our
trust in management and work on our issues."
But both pro- and
anti-union dealers say fear crept its way into the campaign. Those
on the pro-union side claim some casinos hinted at establishing
no-tipping policies or mass layoffs of dealers if the union won.
"They were
promising and threatening at the same time," said Jack
Lipsman, vice president of the National Federation of Gaming
Employees.
Lipsman believes the
union didn't do enough to combat these tactics.
"If they scream
at you, you have to scream back," Lipsman said.
But dealers against
the union claim union organizers were sometimes too aggressive.
They claim many dealers were pressured or misled into singing
authorization cards. Dealers that openly opposed the union were
ostracized by their pro-union colleagues, and some were told they
would be fired if the union won, said Kristin Williams, dealer at
the MGM Grand.
One expert believes
peer pressure probably played a big role in how many cards were
signed -- and explains why so many dealers switched in the privacy
of a voting booth.
"If you have
fellow employees asking you to sign a card, that can be
intimidating too," said Shannon Bybee, executive director of
UNLV's International Gaming Institute. "People didn't want to
say no, so they signed a card. They didn't know how strong they
were, how much support they had."
This story is
located at:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2001/mar/12/511551695.html?Union+busters+effective
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