Golden Gate braces for strike

Wednesday, July 3, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

The Golden Gate Tuesday braced for the long haul on the second day of a Culinary Union strike, hiring replacement workers and installing surveillance cameras around the entrance to the Fremont Street property.

"We're in the process of getting our house in order," said owner Mark Brandenburg, who also Tuesday telephoned union leaders asking to keep the lines of communication open.

Brandenburg said he's seeking another bargaining session to explain his difficult financial position in the hopes of finding more common ground with the union.

"I want an agreement, but it has to be realistic," he said.

Culinary Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor said he was willing to meet with Brandenburg, but the added the casino owner told him he had nothing new to offer the union. Brandenburg still wants to switch his union employees from the Culinary's health plan to his company's medical insurance, a proposal the union flatly rejects, Taylor said.

Tuesday's developments at the Golden Gate came as Jackie Gaughan, with the help of his son, neighborhood casino mogul Michael Gaughan, agreed to keep the Western hotel open, then signed a five-year union contract. The deal is similar to one Jackie Gaughan signed at his Las Vegas Club.

The action, which came one day after the Gaughans announced the property would close in 60 days, saved the jobs of about 200 workers, including 90 union members.

"I've got to keep those people working," Jackie Gaughan said before an agreement was struck with the union. "I'm going to keep it open."

At the Golden Gate, Brandenburg said pickets outside his casino the first night of the strike were harassing his customers and even blocking the entrance -- a charge union leaders denied.

But union lawyers met with Metro Police Tuesday afternoon to go over ground rules on the picket line to avoid unnecessary clashes.

John Newman, the Golden Gate's chief engineer, said strikers also had plastered union stickers overnight on the front windows of the casino.

He said he was installing the surveillance cameras around the property to keep track of potential vandals on the picket line.