Union: Mediator helping with Mandalay negotiations

Alana Roberts

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

Negotiations between the Operating Engineers Local 501 and three Mandalay Resort Group properties have improved with the help of a federal mediator, a union leader said.

George Scott, the union's business representative, said although no decisions were made during Monday's negotiation session, he said both sides agreed to come back to the bargaining table ready to give concessions.

The union's next negotiation session with the company and the mediator is set for Friday. The union represents about 320 workers at the Circus Circus, Luxor and Excalibur.

"It looks promising," Scott said. "Both sides are going to basically take it back to our superiors and see if we can't get them to give us a little more room to move. Right now we're working very hard to avoid an impasse or a strike."

The union and company have been working to hammer out a contract agreement since February. The union's contract expired March 31. The union's members rejected a two-tier wage proposal by Mandalay Resort Group in July.

Mike Sloan, Mandalay senior vice president, referred calls to Kit Turner, the company's director of corporate human resources. Turner could not be reached for comment.

Other Mandalay Resort Group officials could not be reached for comment this morning.