Hammering home their message

David Strow

Monday, May 1, 2000 | 11:03 a.m.

The Nevada Carpenters Union stepped up its pressure on the Mirage hotel-casino Friday as union members protested outside the property to demand recognition.

The union is accusing the Mirage of ignoring the demands of a majority of its carpenters and upholsterers. The union says more than half of the resort's 22 carpenters and upholsterers have signed cards and petitions to hotel management saying they want the union to represent them in collective bargaining.

But the union claims these calls were met by a campaign of spying on, interrogating, threatening and coercing carpenters and upholsterers engaged in the union organizing campaign.

Jeff Hermanson, organizer representative for the union, said the protests will be repeated every two to three weeks. The union has sent invitations to participate to all 7,000 of its local members.

"We had hoped, when we presented an initial request for recognition, that it would be done in a friendly way, and it was quite the opposite," Hermanson said. "We were surprised and disappointed. We still hope they will do the right thing."

Hermanson expressed optimism the protests would not continue for long.

"We think it's going to be effective," he said. "We think we will convince them to do the right thing."

The union has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for an order that would compel the resort to recognize and negotiate with the union.

However, parent company Mirage Resorts Inc. remains adamant it has no plans to do so, accusing the union of engaging in publicity tactics to avoid proper organization procedures.

"The proper procedure is for the union to file with the NLRB for an election," said Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman. "The proper procedure has nothing to do with press releases and demonstrations, and everything to do with going through the proper channels of the NLRB.

"They know this full well, and the fact that they are not going through the proper channels is beginning to look more and more like they don't have confidence they would be elected."

Feldman said Mirage's friendly relations with labor "are historic and well known.

"All we would ask of anyone is that they follow the rules," he said.

Currently, the union is recognized at the Golden Nugget, and Hermanson describes relations as friendly with that hotel's management. The union isn't recognized by any other Mirage Resorts property.

Hermanson said the goal of the protests isn't to put pressure on the company to recognize the union at all of its properties -- nor to put pressure on Mirage acquiror MGM Grand Inc., which doesn't recognize the Carpenters Union at either the MGM Grand or the New York-New York. However, he said the union "has received interest from a number of Mirage properties, as well as interest from the MGM properties."

"Right now, we want to get recognition for the carpenters at the Mirage," Hermanson said. "Hopefully we're sending a message to all employers in Las Vegas that employ carpenters."