Employee files NLRB complaint

Wednesday, June 14, 2000 | 10:38 a.m.

An employee of the Las Vegas Strip's MGM Grand hotel-casino filed a complaint against the property with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing MGM Grand management of engaging in efforts to "restrain and coerce" an employee effort to decertify the Culinary Union.

The complaint was filed Monday by Jane Reidhead with the assistance of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation of Springfield, Va., and takes issue with a letter issued by MGM Grand President Bill Hornbuckle to employees June 1.

"MGM Grand Hotel and Casino management is shamelessly doing the union's dirty work," said Randy Wanke, the foundation's director of legal information.

Hornbuckle's letter refers to an effort to decertify the Culinary at the MGM Grand, and says the hotel-casino will not support this effort. The foundation called this letter "coercive," and said a "very substantial complement of employees" supports an effort to decertify the Culinary.

"We believe that the decertification process will divide cast members, which is contrary to our company's philosophy that we are a Grand Family working together to achieve success," Hornbuckle wrote. "The decertification process may result in long, drawn out campaigns that could distract cast members from our most important goal -- providing Grand Class Service to guests."

MGM Grand Inc. spokesman Alan Feldman said the NLRB complaint was without merit.

"We hvae a long-standing progressive relationship with our cast members and employees, whether they're represented or not, and we will always abide by the law, and whatever decisions our employees and cast members make," Feldman said. "We believe that the complaint is without merit, that we are completely within the law to express our opinion about this effort, and that's what we've done."