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International Union of Gaming
Employees
P.O. Box 71961
Las Vegas, Nevada 89170
(702) 474-9766 · Fax (702) 386-4821
November 9, 2006
To
the Wynn dealers:
This letter is about Steve Wynn’s
recent attempt to use his dealer’s tokes to subsidize a
portion of his management payroll. Several Wynn dealers
asked us if we would help to reverse this egregious policy
and we agreed to help.
If you check our website, <iuge.net>,
you will see an almost identical attempt was made in 1999
at the Resort at Summerlin. We picked up the gauntlet then
and were successful in turning it around. By the way,
then, just as now, we received no help from the Gaming
Commission or any other state agency. Please understand
that they do not care about gaming employees as long as
they can continue to collect their gaming taxes.
We have worked up a plan to make the public
more aware of the audacity and illegality of Wynn’s new
policy. It includes pickets and demonstrations in front of
the hotel (on the public sidewalk, of course) using our
right of free speech to tell the world our story. Of
course, there will be media there to report the news and
hopefully there will be national (and international, i.e.
Macau) coverage.
We are certain that many gaming analysts in
brokerage houses coast-to-coast will be made aware of
Nevada’s gaming statutes which preclude an employer from
retaining “….any part of the tips for his own use or reap
any direct benefit from the pooling.” (U.S. Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals)
We do not expect Wynn dealers to directly
participate in any picketing or demonstrations. Even
though the dealers have a perfect right to speak, we have
no illusions that the Wynn team would respect that right.
We plan to enlist other interested
citizen, from gaming and elsewhere, to speak for the Wynn
dealers since it would be risky to be identified as a
protester. Under all circumstances, the anonymity of Wynn
dealers will be absolute.
We
are including our mailing address below. If you feel you
would like to help us financially, please send money to
this address. The dealers who came to us originally
provided some money for start up, but we will need some
more to cover expenses. Five dollars or five hundred,
whatever you think is right. Please make checks or money
orders payable to IUGE.
One more note. We know that there is
a legal effort underway initiated by Wynn dealers, and
concurrently, that there have been some discussions going
on between Wynn dealers and several major unions. If
either the legal effort succeeds, or a major union steps
up, the IUGE will step aside. At present we have no
interest in undertaking an organizing effort. We simply
want to reverse this injustice for the good of the gaming
industry. Dealers, believe us, you are not
alone!
Tony Badillo & Jack Lipsman, IUGE
Mailing address:
IUGE
P.O. Box 71961
Las Vegas, NV 89170
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