Columnist Jeff German: Culinary Union is abuzz with strike talk

Friday, April 19, 2002 | 4:57 a.m.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME since Culinary Union leaders have uttered the "s-word" in public.

But talk of a strike on the Strip is making the rounds inside the union these days as it faces tough collective bargaining negotiations with some 36 casinos.

Union leaders are calling these sessions the most difficult since 1984 when they actually went on strike for 75 days and dramatically curtailed tourism in Las Vegas.

Expect to hear more strike talk on Wednesday during a meeting of the union's 1,500-member contract committee to discuss strategy over the next five weeks of negotiations.

"We have to view that as a possibility," says D. Taylor, the union's newly elected secretary-treasurer. "We have to be prepared."

Mike Sloan, general counsel for Mandalay Resort Group, which begins discussions with the Culinary Union on Monday, says he's not surprised to hear the "s-word" floated out.

"In past years people have always had dual tracks," he says. "One is you contemplate the more realistic course -- a negotiated settlement. And the other is you prepare for an eventuality you hope doesn't happen."

Sloan believes the union is talking tough now to generate interest among its members in the negotiations.

That probably is true.

But this kind of rhetoric wasn't publicly used in three previous contract talks. There was no need then to discuss a walkout because each side had a cooperative mind-set that made it easy to reach a deal.

Each side prospered from this cordial relationship. The casino industry underwent a period of unprecedented growth and expansion, and the Culinary Union earned a reputation as the darling of the American labor movement.

All bets are off now in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which sent tourism into a tailspin and forced casinos to lay off thousands of union members.

As both sides have pointed out, these are not normal negotiations this time around. The slumping economy has changed everything.

Though revenues are back on the upswing, and many of those let go have returned to work, the casinos have lost millions in revenues over the past seven months. They are in no mood to give the Culinary Union charity.

The union has entered into the negotiations with a sense of urgency knowing it has to reach an agreement by June 1, when the current five-year contract expires, to keep its ailing health and welfare fund on solid financial footing.

Union leaders, angry at the way casino workers were treated after Sept. 11, also are feeling pressure to ease the pain of future layoffs.

Not since 1984 has there been such animosity toward management heading into contract talks.

But will a strike actually take place?

The odds are it won't, especially if both sides can agree to a shorter two-year contract proposed by the union. Both sides know how disastrous a walkout would be to Las Vegas tourism in the aftermath of Sept. 11.

Yet a strike can't be ruled out either. Because of the layoffs, the Culinary Union for the first time in years has found itself having to act like a real union to protect the rights of the working men and women within its ranks.

The union has had it easy under its post-1984 policy of detente with the casino industry. It has had the luxury of picking off targets, such as the Frontier, Binion's Horseshoe, the MGM Grand and the Venetian. But never has it felt the need to take on the entire industry at once -- that is until now.

So when you start hearing Culinary leaders utter the "s-word," you have a right to be skeptical, knowing they're in the middle of tough contract negotiations. But don't be fooled into thinking it's just saber rattling.

Remember, these are not normal times, and these are not normal negotiations. The future of Las Vegas is at stake here.