Bellagio employees vote for union

Tuesday, May 7, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.

Warehouse employees at the Bellagio hotel-casino voted for representation by the Teamsters Union in a Friday vote.

Workers in the Bellagio's warehousing and receiving department voted 24-18 in favor of representation by Teamsters Local 995 in a National Labor Relations Board-supervised election.

"It's very significant, and we look forward to negotiating with the Bellagio," Rob Rovere, president of Local 995, said. "It's the first time we've been in the Mirage properties."

"We're obviously disappointed that our employees would feel the need to pay an outside third party to represent their concerns with us," MGM MIRAGE spokesman Alan Feldman said. "We stand by their decision, and we'll proceed to move forward with the process of negotiating with their representatives."

Local 995 represents 3,500 workers in the gaming industry, including valet parkers, telecommunications workers, room reservations clerks, front desk personnel, laborers, gardeners, warehouse workers and limousine drivers. It currently has contracts at 14 Strip properties, including the MGM MIRAGE-owned MGM Grand and New York-New York.

Mirage Resorts Inc. developed Bellagio before Mirage Resorts was acquired by MGM Grand Inc. in 2000.