|
Wynn
dealt another protest
Gaming panel asked to review tip policy
By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL
A small group run by retired card dealers says new tip
policies at one of the Strip's swankiest casinos threatens
incomes of tipped workers everywhere, from the dingiest
locals haunts to the hippest resorts in Las Vegas.
The International Union of Gaming Employees, an
organization run by two retired card dealers, wants
operators of Wynn Las Vegas to rethink changes to its
tip-pooling policy that is costing some dealers thousands
of dollars per year.
On Monday, Tony Badillo and Jack Lipsman filed a complaint
with the Nevada Gaming Control Board urging the regulators
to step in on behalf of Wynn dealers.
The men oppose a new policy at the casino that reserves a
portion of the tips earned by dealers for floor
supervisors who weren't previously part of the pool.
Not only is the policy unfair to Wynn dealers. it could
provide a template for other companies to restructure tip
sharing policies for everyone from waitresses, valets and
bartenders, Lipsman and Badillo said.
"What is to prevent management from taking 20 percent of
their money," Lipsman said.
So far the new policy is holding up to scrutiny.
Dennis Neilander, chairman of the Gaming Control Board,
said tip policies aren't part of the regulators' typical
jurisdiction.
"It didn't appear it involved any gaming matters,"
Neilander said.
The state's labor commissioner has already rejected one
complaint about the new policy, and the control board said
wages do not fall under its jurisdiction.
Amanda Penn, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of
Business & Industry, said the company followed the law in
notifying employees in advance of the change, which went
into effect Sept. 1.
Dealers who want to challenge it would need to establish
they are losing money, which would require time to
document, Penn said.
"Because it is tips, they can't show they have actually
been harmed at this point," she said. "Even then it still
may not be a violation of wage and hour law."
Two Wynn dealers have filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse
the policy.
Badillo and Lipsman said Wynn dealers hurt by the new
policy asked the International Union of Gaming Employees
to step in on their behalf.
"Everybody is afraid to go against Steve Wynn. He is a
very powerful man," said Badillo, referring to Steve Wynn,
chairman of Wynn Resorts Ltd. "We are here to defend the
dealers."
Representatives of the company did not return calls for
comment on Monday.
But in earlier statements they have said the new policy is
legal and the best way to correct the imbalance created
when dealers make significantly more money than managers
supervising them.
Dealers, however, see it differently.
Several who didn't want to be identified for fear of
losing their jobs say the policy pits employees against
their supervisors and is hurting morale on the casino
floor.
"It just sucks here. I've been dealing for 12 years. I
love dealing and I hate my job," said one dealer, who said
he's worked at Wynn Las Vegas since the $2.7 billion
resort opened in April 2005. "Everybody is frustrated,
everybody is miserable."
Another dealer said she came to work at the casino in
large part because of Wynn's reputation for operating
high-quality casinos with good employee morale. But now
the environment between dealers and floor supervisors is
"toxic," she said.
"Everyone is really, really scared," she said. "We try not
to take it to the table. But the tension is still there
between the floor people and the dealers. Every day you
have to deal with it."
(Back
to Index) |
