No win-win for Wynn, former dealer
Casino has to post notice on right to organize, but ex-worker gets zip
Wynn Las Vegas recently posted a notice acknowledging it can’t threaten workers with discharge if they go on strike, it can’t discipline workers for engaging in legal union organizing activities and it may not threaten employees by saying it is futile to join a union.
This notice, which must be posted for 60 days, is just about the only fallout from the National Labor Relations Board complaint filed against the casino by one of Wynn’s former dealers, Cynthia Fields, who alleged in the complaint that she was threatened with loss of her job if she joined a union. After she filed her complaint, the company fired her, claiming she walked off the job. She denied it.
The case has no bearing on casino boss Steve Wynn’s controversial tip-sharing policy, which led to the dealer meeting that triggered Fields’ complaint and that remains in force at his property.
Fields neither got her job back nor won compensation from Wynn.
Neither Wynn nor the National Labor Relations Board’s Las Vegas office, which represented Fields, chose to appeal the decision by administrative law Judge Burton Litvack, which was released in January.
Litvack’s decision contained disparaging comments about Fields as well as about some of Wynn’s employees, suggesting that witnesses either lied in court or didn’t tell the whole truth.
Legal experts say it would be difficult for either party to move beyond the subjective interpretations involving the credibility of so many witnesses, which could be one reason why they are letting the decision stand.
For Wynn, the notice Litvack ordered posted is little more than a slap on the wrist.
So did Wynn really break the law?
Attorneys who represent employers say workers may misinterpret employer speeches against unions as threats. Employers are allowed to explain to their workers why they think they shouldn’t join a union.
“It’s not uncommon for employees to interpret what an employer is saying as a threat while what the employer is trying to do is get its side of the story (out),” Las Vegas labor attorney Patrick Hicks said.