Culinary, hotel to resume talks

Monday, July 8, 2002 | 10:49 a.m.

The Culinary Union planned to resume negotiations with the Golden Gate joined by a federal mediator late today or Tuesday, as a strike at the small downtown casino entered its second week.

Gary Moss, an attorney for the Golden Gate, said LaVonne Ritter of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service attended Friday's contract talks at the Culinary Union hall.

Ritter took an interest in negotiations with other financially troubled downtown casinos late last month before those casinos struck an 11th-hour agreement with the union.

Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor said Ritter's presence on Friday was helpful and led to productive talks.

"She had some suggestions to the company and heard from our workers," he said.

Both sides, however, still are apart on the health insurance issue.

The union wants the Golden Gate to make the same increases in contributions to its health fund as 34 other downtown and Strip hotels.

But the 106-room Golden Gate, the last holdout during three months of contentious negotiations with the casino industry, has proposed switching union employees to the company's health insurance to save money.

Moss said this morning that the Golden Gate is trying to find a way to keep union employees on the union's medical plan but is having a difficult time doing that.

Asked how he felt the talks were going, Moss responded, "I feel better than I did earlier."

Taylor said the company now has a better understanding of how important staying on the union's health plan is to union members.

The union has been on strike since last Monday when the Golden Gate refused to take the same deal as other economically distressed downtown hotels.

Police reported this morning that two men, one in a wheelchair, were arrested late Saturday after getting into an altercation on the picket line with strikers and police.

Taylor said the union is not pressing charges against the two men.