Union wants immediate Aladdin representation

Sun Staff

Thursday, July 24, 2003 | 11:04 a.m.

An estimated 1,000 sign-carrying demonstrators, boosted by an appearance by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, marched in front of the Aladdin hotel-casino Wednesday afternoon, rallying for union representation at the Strip property.

Metro officers said the demonstration was peaceful and there were no incidents during the hour-long event, staged at rush hour on the Strip in triple-digit temperatures. Pedestrians in front of the Aladdin were alternately curious, annoyed and supportive of protesters, who rallied to persuade the Aladdin's management to sign a union contract before a new ownership group buys the property out of bankruptcy.

The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 organized the rally in conjunction with a convention of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). Scores of demonstrators wore bright red UNITE T-shirts, carrying signs that read, "Union now for job security."

The Culinary raised other issues involving the Aladdin in addition to the bid for a union contract. The union has filed more than 50 charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that workers were threatened because they showed support for union organizing.

The Culinary said the company's management particularly targeted "immigrant workers," specifically Hispanic laborers. The union said 90 percent of the charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board involve immigrant workers.

Aladdin officials did not comment directly to the charges, but issued a statement in conjunction with the union demonstration.

"At the Aladdin, we are proud of our track record of respecting and protecting our employees' rights to job security, fair wages and secure benefits," said the statement issued Wednesday afternoon.

"We have proven this commitment through good times and bad, from post-9/11 through a job-killing recession and a bankruptcy proceeding. This commitment was reaffirmed when Aladdin insisted that our employees be recognized as the company's greatest asset in the purchase and sales agreement for the Aladdin. This agreement protects the jobs of Aladdin employees, including their wages and benefits and the future owners have re-affirmed the same commitment to you," the statement says.

Union officials say they are pressing for representation before the Aladdin is acquired for $635 million by a group fronted by Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl. Last month, Earl and partners Starwood Hotels & Resorts International and financier Bay Harbour LLC were selected as the best bidder for the property in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas.

The deal is expected to close within six months to a year, once Planet Hollywood executives are licensed.

Earl has announced that he plans to transform the Aladdin into the Planet Hollywood hotel-casino and he promised to employ all current Aladdin employees and maintain their benefits packages.

Earl was out of the country and unavailable for comment Wednesday, but a two-page advertisement with a letter in English and Spanish signed by Planet Hollywood hotel-casino Chief Executive Mike Mecca appeared in the Wednesday editions of the Las Vegas Sun and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"The most valuable assets of the Aladdin are you, the team members," the letter says. "It was a critical part of the agreement to purchase the Aladdin that the Aladdin team members would be retained as part of the deal. That is why you be joining the new resort at the same wage and benefit levels you enjoy now.

"We expect that the renovations and the new facade will bring new people into the resort for the first time, but it is your excellent reputation for outstanding guest service that will bring them back again and again," the letter says.

But union officials said only a contract would guarantee job security.

Culinary Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor said Planet Hollywood executives are not obligated to keep Aladdin workers once they have held the property for 90 days.

Several Aladdin employees addressed the rally, supporting the union's efforts for representation through a card-signing process. Aladdin officials have said they would prefer that their employees make their decision through a secret ballot.

"We are very proud of our record and will continue to respect our employees' rights," the Aladdin said in its statement. "We believe that a card count, rather than a secret-ballot election deprives Aladdin employees of one of every American's most important right -- the right to express their opinion in a secret-ballot election."

Mecca could not be reached for comment on whether the Planet Hollywood group would address union representation through card signing or a secret ballot.

Mecca said via an e-mail to the Las Vegas Sun that "Our primary goal is to create a healthy and happy work environment for our future team members and we fully intend to do so."

UNITE's participation in Wednesday's rally was part of the group's five-day convention at the Bally's hotel-casino, which was expected to draw about 2,000 people from across North America.

UNITE, which represents about 250,000 people, including 4,000 Las Vegas workers primarily in the laundry industry, appeared with striking workers at Al Phillips the Cleaner Inc. and assisted in organizing efforts at the Las Vegas operation of Cincinnati-based uniform manufacturer Cintas Corp.

Demonstrators protested at the Al Phillips central plant over working conditions and unrealistic production goals. Al Phillips workers at the UNITE convention said they also are forced to work through lunch breaks.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, John Wilhelm, president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, actor Danny Glover and Jackson also addressed the convention this week.

Pedestrians on the Strip had varying opinions about the rally. One woman who would not give her name complained to Metro officers about rally participants blocking the sidewalk while she and her family tried to walk along the Strip.

Others were surprised when they recognized Jackson. The renowned civil rights activist led the group with pro-union chants and spoke briefly about the union's role in Las Vegas and criticized President Bush's policies regarding organized labor.

Other pedestrians found the rally to be one more thing to tell friends about back home.

"It's pretty interesting," said Jason Schafer, a tourist from Youngstown, Ohio. "I guess if the employees of the Aladdin want a union they should be able to get one."