Columnist Jeff German: Roy not the only one in recovery

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003 | 11:09 a.m.

As Roy Horn recovers from being attacked on stage by one of his rare white tigers, we are learning about other less-heralded victims of this stunning tragedy at The Mirage.

Among those victims are 46 showroom beverage servers, busboys and ushers -- all Culinary Union members -- who have lost their jobs with last Friday's formal announcement that the final curtain has come down on the Siegfried & Roy show.

A handful of union ushers is being transferred to the resort's Danny Gans show to displace ushers with less seniority there. But because the Gans showroom doesn't have cocktail servers, the Siegfried & Roy servers have to find jobs elsewhere.

Despite the chaos in their own lives, more than 30 of those showroom employees attended a candlelight vigil outside UMC's Trauma Center on Sunday night to pray for Horn's recovery.

"I love you Roy -- from Linda and all the ushers and servers," yelled veteran showroom server Linda Crandall, holding a candle high above her head. About 300 well-wishers congregating in the hospital's parking lot looked up to Roy's room and offered words of encouragement to the entertainer.

Later, as the crowd began to disperse, Crandall and her fellow showroom employees huddled together in the parking lot to console each other and offer an extra prayer for the uncertainty they now face.

They contended that the hotel, with the powerful Culinary Union's blessing, has tossed them aside like an old shoe.

"We care about Roy, but this is not right," Crandall said.

Veronica Vonderohe, a laid-off showroom supervisor, added: "It's not Roy's fault. It's not Siegfried's fault. I know they would be on our side."

Showroom workers understand that their jobs aren't etched in stone. Shows and restaurants frequently close for one reason or another on the Strip, and there are procedures in place under the union's contract to ensure that employees are treated fairly in those circumstances.

But what is so unusual about this closing is that it was unexpected. Siegfried & Roy has been one of the Strip's biggest draws for years, and many of the union workers have been with the performers since the show opened at The Mirage in 1989. They have been extremely loyal to the resort, but they don't believe The Mirage is returning that loyalty.

Officially, the workers haven't been fired, but rather laid off for six months.

Under the union contract, that means they can keep their seniority during this period if they find another job at The Mirage or any of the other MGM MIRAGE properties. They also are entitled to retain some or all of their health benefits for four months.

But unlike 134 nonunion Siegfried & Roy employees -- who were terminated -- they are not receiving a monetary severance package, which, depending on their length of employment, could be as much as six months' salary.

With families to feed, that has outraged the union employees and created a public relations problem for the Culinary Union, which is being accused of failing to minimize the misery of the workers.

It is reminiscent of the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, when the union could only sit back and watch 10,000 of its members get laid off all along the Strip.

"This is a horrible situation," Culinary Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor conceded Monday. "But we're going to work hard to make sure those folks get placed in other jobs inside that corporation."

Mirage officials said they also planned to work hard toward that goal.

If both hold true to their word, then Roy Horn's continued recovery won't be the only prayer answered this week.