Las Vegas , Nevada

Committee formed to stop tip-sharing policy

In the wake of Steve Wynn's controversial tip-sharing policy, which started at the Wynn hotel-casino in September 2006, the International Union of Gaming Employees has launched the Committee to Prevent Employers from Seizing Tips. The goal of the committee -- acronym PEST -- is to prevent the policy from spreading to other casinos.

"We started this committee because the union that's in the Wynn, the Transport Workers Union, is fully engaged in negotiations with the Wynn and we feel this particular issue is being overlooked by them and the media," said Jack Lipsman, vice president of the International Union of Gaming Employees. "There's no media exposure right now to what Wynn has done. We feel this issue should stay in the public eye and that politicians should be looking into it. We feel we needed a special committee to focus on this issue."

In a news release, the International Union of Gaming Employees said the committee has nothing to do with union membership or labor organizing. It's a single-issue campaign to ensure that tips earned by dealers and other employees "remain the sole property of the employee who earns them," said the release.

The union is asking all tip-earning employees or their representatives to get in touch, so a rally can be scheduled. It's also asking them to register to vote.

"The response has been unbelievable," said Lipsman, adding that all names will be kept confidential. "Every day we open the e-mail there's dozens and dozens of requests to jump on board, to be a member of this committee, to do whatever it takes to get the public focused on this issue. It's a case of property. People own their tips. For someone to come along and seize them is just wrong."

The International Union of Gaming Employees was founded in 1989 by a group of veteran dealers who felt dealers needed a collective voice. Its goals include improving working conditions and job security, fighting for better wages and benefits, and negotiating improved retirement and health plans through collective bargaining.

For more information about the union and its Committee to Prevent Employers from Seizing Tips, call 474-9766 or e-mail dealers@iuge.net.

Matt O'Brien >> mobrien@lvcitylife.com

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