Union holding off on strike plans

Alana Roberts

Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

A lead negotiator, on behalf of 320 maintenance workers at three Mandalay Resort Group properties, said Monday the union will forego a strike until after Thursday's meeting with company negotiators and a federal mediator.

"I will say right now, we're willing to look at any offer that is substantially better than what they currently have," George Scott, business representative of the Operating Engineers Local 501, said. "If their better offer had two-tiers we're certainly willing to consider it. It would be based upon everything else that's included in the offer."

Scott is negotiating on behalf of maintenance workers at the Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus.

Scott declined to elaborate on what other concessions the company could offer to make a two-tier wage package more attractive to the members. He said although the union is willing to consider anything better than what the company has already proposed, that doesn't mean the union's members will accept any offer the company makes. He said the meeting is a good sign for negotiations.

"If they're willing to talk before everybody goes out on strike I see that as a positive," Scott said.

Mike Sloan, Mandalay senior vice president, said the both sides would like to prevent a strike.

"I think both sides would like to figure out a way to avoid a disruption, if that's possible, and I think that's what we'll explore at the meeting," Sloan said.

Sloan previously said the company has a contingency plan in case the workers decide to strike. He stressed that maintenance functions will continue at the properties.

Scott has said that the two-tier wage proposal, if accepted, would anger other property leaders who have accepted a single-tier wage and benefit package earlier this year. He also said the proposal would hurt the union's ability to organize workers at nonunion properties.

Although both sides are planning to meet Thursday and the union plans to hold off any strike plans until after the meeting, the company placed advertisements in local newspapers seeking maintenance engineers at the three properties.

Scott said the advertisements are not a threat, but he said he is surprised the advertisements offer wages similar to the $21 an hour the union's current journeymen make. One advertisement warns applicants that the company is involved in a labor dispute. The advertisement said, "the position advertised may be impacted by a labor stoppage."

"I anticipated seeing the ads at a $27 an hour wage rate because that's what they pay their nonunion properties," Scott said.

The workers voted on Thursday and Friday to reject a two-tier wage proposal by the company that offers new members $2.50 an hour less than the $21.69 an hour the properties' journeymen would make in the first year of the Mandalay contract. Both tiers of workers would get 85-cent raises in each year of the five-year contract.

Although Scott said the union wouldn't strike before Thursday's meeting, the workers could strike as early as Wednesday afternoon now that they rejected the company's proposal and union leaders have delivered a five-day notice to the company that it plans to strike.

The union wants the company to accept a single-tier contract offer similar to one reached with 10 other Strip properties this year. That agreement includes a $4.30 hourly increase in wages and benefits over the five-year life of the contract.