Elardi: Neal plan unconstitutional

Lynn Wadell

Thursday, Jan. 29, 1998 | 11:14 a.m.

Frontier Hotel management says any legislative action forcing it to sign a union contract and end its 15-month strike would be unconstitutional.

Sen. Joe Neal, D-Las Vegas, has proposed a bill that would revoke the Frontier's gaming license if it's determined that management is trying to bust the unions.

"Sen. Neal should have researched the applicable laws prior to interjecting the state of Nevada into this labor dispute," Frontier General Manager Tom Elardi said in a prepared statement.

Neal is proposing to have the State Gaming Control Board investigate the strike to determine whether the Frontier can afford to match the benefits

agreed to by other Strip hotels.

"We could require the hotel to reach a settlement in a certain time limit or we could force suspension of the license," Neal said.

Elardi said if Neal wants an investigation, it should include a probe of the Culinary Union. The international union has been the subject of RICO litigation in other jurisdictions, he said.

The state also should consider tourist complaints that union pickets verbally abused them as they entered the Frontier, and the union's placement of illegal wooden structures along the Strip, Elardi said.

Five unions began picketing the hotel on Sept. 21, 1991, after management refused to sign union contracts comparable to those signed by other Strip resorts.