Tony Badillo, former president of the International Union of Gaming Employees (IUGE), told the Las Vegas Tribune that the Supreme Court ruling gave the heads of the Culinary Local 226 “a taste of its own medicine.” Badillo was referring to when Douglas Taylor, the head of the Local 226, sided with casino boss Steve Wynn and his decision of taking the tips from the dealers to enhance the salary of his casino supervisors.

At one time, the Culinary Union Local 226 used to be the most powerful labor organization in the state of Nevada; but as the years go by, and different regimes run the organization, they are losing their political power. Many people running for office were intimidated with the political power of Local 226; a handful of elected officials wouldn’t dare to go against the group and they solicited their endorsement and considered that a must.

Today that image is gone and the political power of the Culinary Union Local 226 is nothing more than a myth. Many political office holders ignored the orders of the union and won the election. County Commissioner Tom Collins is a good example of that. The union told the Democrats running for office not to take a contribution from Sheldon Adelson, but Collins ignored the order, took the contribution, and won.

Adelson is the chairman of the Sands Corporation, the owner of the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and also owns properties in Macao; he’s considered one of the richest men in the world. “What he did to us was uncalled for,” Badillo stated. “IUGE and the Local 226 are two labor organizations and they should respect each other,” Badillo said.

Badillo said that when the IUGE went against Steve Wynn and his idea of taking 15 percent from the dealers’ tips to increase the wages of the floor men, Taylor joined forces with Wynn and went against the dealers’ rightful fight against Wynn. “What Taylor did to us when we were collecting signatures was wrong too,” Badillo expressed.

“We were doing so well collecting signatures, but Taylor hired blockers to interfere with our petition drive,” Badillo claimed. While the supporters of IUGE volunteered their time for the Culinary cause, the Culinary Union, under Douglas Taylor’s regime, was hiring blockers at $13.00 an hour to go against another labor group.

Last summer the Culinary again divided its members by supporting Obama for president when the majority of the rank and file members wanted Hillary Clinton. Obama lost the primary election in Nevada despite the support of the heads of the labor organization and its aggressive position against the members that supported Clinton. In reference to the Nevada Supreme Court, Badillo believes that Taylor has no business going after the City of Las Vegas.

“He is supposed to take care of his members, which he doesn’t. He is supposed to make sure that his members have good working conditions; and if a member has any grievances with the management, the Local 226 is supposed to send a representative to represent, protect and defend the member,” said Badillo. The Culinary Union refused to give a comment to the Las Vegas Tribune, but issued a statement to the media saying that “it is unfortunate that the voters will not have an opportunity to vote on these important issues.”

The Las Vegas Tribune has, in the past, editorialized that the Union was not straightforward with its members. Later, the mayor said that “union heads were lying to people” almost in agreement with the newspaper opinion. In a front page lead article, the Las Vegas Tribune accused Taylor of betraying its members; and later, in a March 4 editorial, the newspaper urged its readers to solidify with the construction workers’ union and support the new city hall project that the Culinary Union so vehemently opposed.