Columnist Jeff German: Maloof is confident of beating union

Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2003 | 10:51 a.m.

If you want to liven up a conversation with Palms owner George Maloof these days, here's a tip -- ask him about the Culinary Union's organizing drive at his resort.

Maloof couldn't stop talking about his disdain for the 50,000-member union the other night during a brief chat at the Ice House, the city's newest hot spot.

With the confidence of a heavyweight champion, Maloof predicted that he'll beat back the union campaign, and he left little doubt that he's digging in for a long fight.

The Palms, with some 1,500 potential union members, is one of several casino companies the union has targeted over the next four years. The union also looking to bring another 14,000 employees into its fold at Station Casinos, the Venetian and the Aladdin -- all at the same time.

In May the Culinary Union took its opening shot at Station Casinos when it went to Wall Street to criticize the company's stock-option plan. In July the union heated things up at the Aladdin with a demonstration led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. And all the while the union has been trading charges with the Venetian at the National Labor Relations Board.

Maloof knows it's just a matter of time before the union publicly attacks him, too. So he couldn't resist boasting about what he called the cordial work environment he has created at his trendy resort.

He described himself as a "generous man," saying he showers his employees with the best benefits in the business, a claim the union disputes. For disclosure purposes, the Greenspun family, which owns the Las Vegas Sun, has a 6.5 percent interest in the Palms.

Union leaders have charged in the past that Maloof has threatened and intimidated workers who support the organizing campaign.

But to back up his words, Maloof offered me unrestricted access to his workers to get their thoughts on the union -- an opportunity I intend to take advantage of in the near future.

Over and over during the conversation Maloof insisted that the union was going to get nowhere with his employees. His confident manner reminded me of Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson, who has managed to hold the union at bay for four years while turning his megaresort into one of most popular properties on the Strip.

Maloof said he'll never agree to a union card check, which is the union's preferred method of organizing. Under a card check, all the union has to do is sign up more than 50 percent of the employees to be able to negotiate a work contract on their behalf.

The tougher road is having to go through an NLRB-supervised election, which employers generally can drag out with procedural moves for years.

Maloof is keenly aware that the celebrity-friendly Palms has become one of the hottest resorts in Las Vegas without the backing of the Culinary Union. The Palms frequently is seen on television reality and tabloid shows and mentioned in gossip columns from coast to coast.

If Maloof is only half as determined to fend off the union as Adelson, he's going to make life very difficult for the union in the coming months.

But I have a feeling the union already knows that.