Clergy, union plan civil disobedience at New York-New York

Brian Seals

Thursday, May 14, 1998 | 10:33 a.m.

For the better part of a year the Las Vegas Interfaith Council for Worker Justice has been praying, holding vigils and seeking meetings with management of Ark Las Vegas Restaurants Corp., a subcontractor at the New York-New York hotel-casino.

They got close last week. They marched in to see Paul Gordon, vice president for Ark. That effort failed. But the ministers and members did get to see New York-New York Vice President of Human Resources Dennis Shipley.

That was good enough to call progress, but they'll be back at the hotel today to help Culinary Union Local No. 226 with a civil disobedience protest against Ark.

The Council wants the company to negotiate with the roughly 800 Ark employees at the company's restaurants in the hotel-casino. The group says the workers there make $4 to $5 less than those in comparable jobs on the Strip.

As a result, Council members say those workers are forced to seek government assistance, can't afford Ark's health plan, and, ultimately, come to their churches seeking food and other help. They say low wages diminish pay standards for all workers in the area.

"Across the street they can go, and the wages are astoundingly different," said Pastor Willie Davis of the Second Baptist Church.

That was a point not lost on Shipley as he faced off with the 20 or so Council members seeking a meeting with Gordon. The Culinary Union has a contract with New York-New York, but not with the Ark restaurants operating inside the hotel-casino.

Shipley told the group that as long as Ark was conducting its operations within the law, it was not for the hotel-casino to dictate to the company. If ARK employees aren't satisfied, there are many other jobs available along the Strip, he said.

"We have an employment office," Shipley said. "We're always looking for employees."

Gordon said by phone his company didn't have the advantage of gambling revenue that hotel-casinos have. He said that compared to other restaurant-only operations in the city, Ark's wages are competitive.

Gordon urged the Culinary Union to call for an election if it wants to organize.

But Kline said the union wants Ark to recognize the union authorization cards -- which supporters say 80 percent of the workers have signed -- without an election. Kline said the labor election process could be used to delay a contract.

But Gordon said he would not hinder an election attempt, though.

"If they call for an election, we won't delay an election," Gordon said.

The clergy participating last week maintained that as its tenant, New York-New York should be concerned about what they say is a bad apple in the Big Apple. With Strip hotels the financial center of the community, companies operating there should maintain wage standards of other Strip hotel-casinos, supporters say.

"It's your space," Spencer Barrett, pastor of First AME Church, said to Shipley. "You own the property and you ought to take responsibility for it."

The confrontation ended with handshakes, though apparently the workers are no closer to a union contract or higher wages.

It wasn't the outcome the ministers and the faithful wanted, but it was a somewhat discernible step forward for the group.

The Interfaith Council was formed in orchestration with the AFL-CIO in 1997 after the AFL-CIO pointed out some labor conditions in the city, Barrett said.

The group's goal is to educate its members on the situation of workers in the area and to act on behalf worker justice. The group also keeps tabs on construction industry conditions, but says Ark is its main focus for now.

Fran Dias, vice president of the Nevada Employees for the Right to Work and an MGM worker, said she wasn't familiar with the Interfaith Council. But she questioned whether a religious group should work with unions.

"I just think it's kind of strange religious leaders are taking orders from union bosses," Dias said. The Employees for the Right to Work was established in conjunction with the Nevada Association of Independent Business to support workers who don't want union representation.

But Interfaith Council members believe their focus on work conditions is consistent with their religious vocation. Faiths represented on the council include Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

"Saving souls is more than preaching the word, it's taking care of the mind, body, soul and social conditions of our parishioners and of our community, " Barrett said. "I would say not only is it important to saving souls, it's a mandate in the process of saving souls."

Jane Fransioli, a member at Christ the King Catholic Community, added that Jesus didn't just start delivering a message when he met with people.

"When Christ approached people he healed their pains first before he talked about faith," Fransioli said.