Union leader rips offer from downtown casinos

Tuesday, June 18, 2002 | 11:21 a.m.

A top Culinary Union leader Monday blasted a counteroffer from downtown casinos, saying it's designed to destroy the union and provoke a strike on July 1.

"It's a horrendous proposal that no one in their right mind would accept," Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor said. "There's no job security. There's no guarantee of work. There's no good health care plan. And their jobs can all be eliminated with subcontracting."

Taylor said the proposal reminded him of those made by casinos in 1984 that forced the union to go on a costly citywide strike for nearly three months.

"This is not about money," he said. "This is about destroying the union. That's disturbing this late in the game."

Taylor urged the owners of the downtown casinos to become more active in the negotiations, rather than making their positions known through lawyers.

"I very much hope the owners get involved," he said. "We've always felt better when we deal with the principal owners."

Both sides return to the bargaining table on Thursday, as the July 1 strike deadline draws closer. Talks also are set for June 24 and 26.

Attorney Gregory Kamer, who represents seven downtown casinos -- Binion's Horseshoe, Four Queens, Fitzgeralds, Union Plaza, Las Vegas Club, El Cortez and Western -- charged Monday that the union is steering the negotiations toward a strike.

"They're unwilling to yield on anything," he said. "Until the first worker walks out the door, I am still optimistic that I'm dealing with a responsible union and that we can reach a compromise that will avert a disaster downtown.

"All we're trying to do is make sure we can sign a deal we can afford."

Kamer said the downtown hotels already have assessed the capabilities of their non-union workforce and are "ready to go forward" in the event of a strike. About 65 percent of the employees at the seven casinos are nonunion.

Attorney Sal Gugino, who is negotiating for the Castaways on nearby Boulder Highway, said the downtown properties and his client merely made a series of suggestions to the union in response to the union's request.

"The reality is we can only afford so much, and something is going to have to give," he said. "They've got to tell us what they are willing to consider and what they are not willing to consider. In other words, it's time to negotiate."

Taylor outlined the highlights of the downtown proposal at a strike preparation meeting to drum up support among union members at the settled Strip resorts for a Fremont Street walkout on July 1. More than 38,000 union members at the Strip resorts have ratified a new five-year contract that gives them their highest increase ever in wages and benefits.

After the meeting dozens of Strip members poured onto the union's parking lot to assemble "No Contract/No Peace" picket signs and banners that will be used in upcoming demonstrations to draw attention to the contentious downtown negotiations, which involve about 3,600 union members.

More than 1,500 members of the Communications Workers of America planned to march on Fremont Street this afternoon in support of the Culinary Union. The communications workers are holding their convention here this week.

The Culinary Union also is hoping that as many as 15,000 of its members, mostly from Strip resorts, will turn out for a massive Fremont Street rally on Friday.

Taylor told the Strip workers Monday that the downtown casinos still are insisting on switching employees to company health plans, which he said are "far inferior" to the union's.

The downtown casinos, Taylor explained, want the "unfettered right" to subcontract out union jobs if necessary and reduce a guaranteed 40-hour work week.

They also want to be able to hire an unlimited number of "extras" or part-time workers who don't have the same benefits as full-time union employees, he said.

Taylor urged the Strip workers to turn out in droves for Friday's Fremont Street march to send the same message to the downtown hotels the union delivered to the Strip resorts during its May 16 strike authorization vote.

As it prepares for a walkout, the union is planning to set up picket lines at all of the unsettled downtown properties and the Castaways in the 33 hours leading up to the strike deadline.

The "Countdown to Deadline," designed to give the hotels a taste of what will happen if a strike occurs, will begin at 3 p.m. on June 29 and last until midnight July 1 if necessary.

The union, meanwhile, met again Monday on friendlier terms with Boyd Gaming, which runs three casinos facing the strike deadline, Stardust, Fremont, and Main Street Station.