Frontier strikers celebrate fortitude

Lynn Waddell

Friday, Jan. 30, 1998 | 9:43 a.m.

It seemed more like a celebration than a continuation of the nation's longest labor strike.

Hundreds of union members hovered around a buffet set up in the street outside the Frontier hotel-casino Wednesday night. Before a stage where musicians performed, the workers commemorated the three-year anniversary of the strike at the Strip hotel.

"It was uplifting," said striker Joe Csengeri, a former Frontier waiter. "It helps us along and shows us the union is going to continue to support us."

Picket signs dotted the crowd, although many of those attending weren't strikers. Union workers from other resorts were there in droves to support the Frontier strikers.

"I'm supporting them all the way," said Lee Heathmon, a Bally's bellman. "The union built this town. I think what they are doing is the right thing and I would do it."

About 300 of the 550 Frontier workers who went on strike three years ago still walk the picket line each week. Many have gotten part-time or full-time jobs, but still make time to carry a picket sign on the sidewalks outside the hotel-casino.

The union hasn't had any communication with Frontier General Manager Tom Elardi in months, said Jim Arnold, Culinary Local 226 secretary-treasurer. Elardi refused to renew six union contracts at the hotel and wanted to substitute a different health plan for the one the unions offered.

Wednesday night's street party was designed to lift strikers' spirits and celebrate their persistence, Arnold said.

"We're going to back them as long as it takes," he said.

Workers from each union hotel in Las Vegas contributed a dish to the smorgasbord for the strikers. Students in the Culinary's training program served the food.

Arnold said the other hotel workers realize the importance of the Frontier strikers' dedication. Without it, current contract negotiations would be much tougher.

"The rest of the members have to understand that if these workers had caved in and walked back inside, we wouldn't succeed at even getting to the bargaining table at all now," Arnold said. "What they are doing is fighting to preserve all the union members' standard of living."

The Culinary and Bartenders unions are in the midst of renegotiating contracts with more than 30 hotels.