107 cited for trespassing in labor protest at Ark

Brian Seals

Friday, May 15, 1998 | 10:32 a.m.

The Culinary Union opposes wages and conditions at Ark Las Vegas Restaurant Corp. and isn't going to take it sitting down.

Well, figuratively speaking at least.

The union and supporters with the religious Interfaith Council for Worker Justice staged a sit-down strike Thursday at New York New York hotel-casino, blocking passage to restaurants inside the hotel operated by Ark. They joined hands and sang civil rights-era songs before being hauled off by Metro Police.

In all, 107 citations were issued for trespassing, said Lt. Rick Alba. "It was very peaceful and there was no resistance," Alba said.

Two former Ark employees, Vertis Manuel and Dave Schafer, lingered after the arrests and handed out fliers on the sidewalk.

"We disrupted the whole casino," Manuel said.

While the event drew attention to the union cause and disrupted some tourists, it may have done little to break the stalemate between the union and the restaurant company.

While the union has a contract with New York-New York, it does not with Ark. Union officials have criticized the wage scale of the company's restaurants, saying it could erode the standard of living for the community.

Union backers contend wages for about 750 Ark employees are $4 to $5 per hour lower than their unionized counterparts elsewhere on the Strip. They fear that could set a low-paying precedent.

"As long as I'm in office and there are workers wanting help to fight injustice, we're going to be there to help them," Culinary Union secretary-treasure Jim Arnold said prior to Thursday's event.

But Ark Vice President Paul Gordon reiterated his call for the union to hold a National Labor Relations Board election.

"I imagine they affected our business, but it doesn't change our position," Gordon said.

Union officials want the company to recognize union authorization cards signed by employees rather than hold an election out of concern the NRLB appeals process could be used by the company to delay a union contract.

Gordon says his company is a restaurant-only operation and shouldn't be compared to hotel-casinos because it doesn't have gaming revenue. Ark's wages compete with other restaurants in the city, Gordon said.

Ark has long been a target of the union. A candlelight vigil was staged in March to oppose the company's wage scale. Moreover, the union has used the civil disobedience approach before, most notable in its prolonged battle with previous owners of the Frontier hotel-casino.