Brief: Union seeks signatures at Colorado casinos

Monday, Nov. 30, 1998 | 11:29 a.m.

Workers from at least nine casinos are concerned about wages, hours and working conditions, a spokesman told The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs.

"People are fed up with the way things are down there," said Teamsters spokesman Ed Bagwell in Denver. "Now they are taking their collective voice to Teamsters Local 537."

Once enough workers sign cards indicating union support, the union will present the cards to management in hopes of beginning contract negotiations. If rejected, the union may seek an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.

A casino official disputed the union's claims of strong union support among the workers. Midnight Rose general manager Richard Wenschlag said workers interested in organizing amount to only "a handful of people."

"I feel as though we don't need a third party to help get through our bumps in the road," he said. "At this point in time we don't look forward to it because we'd rather work things out in our own house."

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