The National Labor Relations Board will certify the results of the weekend’s election in Las Vegas by next week, with dealers requesting a 444-to-149 U.S. Transport Workers Union representative.
Gregory Cameron, a labor attorney at Las Vegas-based Wynn Las Vegas, said Monday that nothing had been known to Wynn’s management to get the casino operator to challenge the election results. Wynn’s management referred any demand for a union vote to Kamer. “Once the (NLRB) certifies the election, we’ll look at the calendar and set up a negotiation session,” Kamer said.
Frank McCann Jr., who led an organizing campaign for transport workers, said Sunday that about 700 dealers at the property expect the casino to eliminate a tip-pulling program that has caused labor unrest and subsequent union votes. In addition, McCann said dealers want to have the right to share their tips and want a job security plan.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to sit down and negotiate an agreement in good faith,” McCann said. “That’s what the workers intend to do to us.” Wynn Las Vegas is a long contract with Culinary Local 226, responsible for about 4,000 of the resort’s roughly 9,000-strong workforce. Key to the union vote is Wynn’s decision to change how the casino splits tips among dealers.
WIN executives added certain managers and casino supervisors to the list of people they deserve to share in the often-profitable pool of casinos on Sept. 1. WIN dealers said they could make $100,000 or more a year before the tip pooling program began and the change cost $20,000 a year.
Wynn Las Vegas executives said dealers launched the policy to correct the wage gap, which earned more than their bosses. Critics argued that Wynn Las Vegas should have raised managers’ wages rather than broadening the tip pool.
The tip pooling program did not find a way to enter another strip casino.
Terri Rani, chairman of MGM Mirage, emailed several company executives last week saying similar tip pooling changes would not be used at any of the game’s operator’s 10-strip resorts. A copy of the email was obtained by Win dealers and posted in the lounge.
Alan Feldman, a spokesman for MGM Mirage, emailed Rani’s statement to the review journal.
“As much as we have spoken publicly and cited in media reports, I would like to state MGM Mirage’s position on this topic clearly and unequivocally,” Rani said. “Dealer tips are their income. The money they earn is theirs. Our company will not implement any kind of tip-sharing program in any resort. This commitment applies to all our casinos and will be policy-driven in CityCenter when it opens in 2009.”
Wynn Resorts chairman Steve Wynn said it was a mistake to implement tip-pulling changes to employees at three different meetings, after an 11-hour appeal to dealers not to vote in favor of union representatives.
Winn apologized to dealers, saying the improved tip pooling was a mistake. But he stopped short of saying he would eliminate the program.
A tape of one of Wynn’s 20-minute speeches was secretly recorded by a dealer and emailed to the media and other stakeholders by pro-union dealer representatives. Las Vegas political commentator John Ralston posted a recording link to his personal blog. Cameron did not dispute Wynn’s unrecorded remarks.
“It was a private gathering for our employees and bugging it was a violation of company policy,” said Kamer. “Steve said he made a mistake, but he didn’t want dealers to make a mistake by voting unionized. But he said he would respect whatever way they voted.” 릴게임