By Rolando Larraz
               Las Vegas Tribune
Culinary Union Boss, D. Taylor, joined Steve Wynn in his fight to confiscate the tip-earners’ tips despite the fact that the union’s members are tip-earners them- selves without the members’ knowledge, participation, or agree- agreement.

“Taylor ignores the fact that its members are tip-earners and are in the position of losing that benefit if Wynn gets his way, and purposely avoids asking the members for their opinions,” said Tony Badillo, president of the International Union of Gaming Employees, who has been fighting Wynn’s policy for the last eighteen months, during an interview with the Las Vegas Tribune news- paper.

After September 1, 2006, when Wynn Resort implemented the policy of confiscating the dealers’ tips to raise his supervisor’s salary, the PEST committee filed a petition to overturn this policy. Since the initiative, Wynn has worked on recruiting different associations to join him in his effort to stop the initiative.

PEST was created as the political arm of IUGE to protect the tip-earners’ income by stopping employers’ confiscation of workers’ tips.

Despite the fact that several local associations and now the Culinary Union have jointed Steve Wynn’s efforts to seize the dealers’ tips, it is significant to note that no other casino-hotel has joined the group.

“Many of these associations that have joined forces with Steve Wynn have done so without the knowledge or approval of their own tip-earning employees or members,” stated Jack Lipsman, Vice President of the International Union of Gaming Employees.

Tony Badillo, Jack Lipsman and Al Maurice, the organizers of the International Union of Gaming Employees’ PEST Committee, visited the Las Vegas Tribune office to provide the newspaper with a copy of the complaint, the answer, and the crosscomplaint against Steve Wynn’s effort to kill the initiative.

The day before the union voted, Steve Wynn announced to his employees that he had made a mistake concerning the tip policy, and as soon as the union vote was

D. Taylor  Secretary-Treasurer  of the Culinary Union joined forces with casino owner Steve Wynn over the tip confiscation  controversy despite the fact that  the majority of union members of Local 226 are tip-earners themselves.

over, he forgot his statement and the policy is still in place.

Later, one of Wynn’s executives explained that what he meant to say was that he was sorry he had not implemented the policy at the time of opening, confirming that Wynn was misleading the dealers.

The cross-complaint will take the issue to the federal court, away from Nevada’s special interests, to challenge the constitutionality of the single subject law that has crushed every initiative petition put forth by the people.

In a letter addressed to D. Taylor, the president of the IUGE con- demns the Culinary Union administration for his actions against his own tip-earning members and all other tip-earners as well.

In the letter Badillo states, “I consider myself one of the original founding members of Local 226, dating back to the 1950s, and the actions you are now taking are in direct contravention of fine history and flawless reputation of the union, as I knew it.”

Approximately two weeks after the date of Steve Wynn’s original complaint, the culinary union joined Wynn’s complaint against the PEST Committee’s initiative against ano- ther union and its own members’ welfare.

“In the culinary union motion to intervene, the labor group stated that ‘the Culinary Worker’s Union most have a voice in the case,’ but in fact the members were never informed and kept in the dark about the union betrayal of the members and in support of Steve Wynn’s harmful policy,” said Al Maurice, a Director of IUGE.