Harrah’s deal gives Culinary an edge

Michael J. Mishak

Saturday, June 16, 2007 | 7:36 a.m.

After two months of negotiations, the Culinary Union and Harrah's Entertainment reached a tentative deal on a new labor contract Friday. While both sides are expressing public satisfaction, casino industry insiders say the deal threatens to drive a wedge in between Strip operators for the first time in years.

The contract, which covers about 15,000 workers at six properties, continues to give Culinary an easy "card check" method of organizing workplaces, including those managed by third-party operators.

Negotiations between the union and MGM Mirage have turned icy in recent weeks largely because neither side will yield on card checks. MGM Mirage, although unopposed to the organizing method at the properties it operates, is fighting contract language that would bind its future partners.

Of immediate concern to the union are about 800 jobs expected to be included at third-party operations in MGM Mirage's CityCenter, under construction on the Strip. That number is relatively small, but Culinary is concerned about precedent in an era when more casino companies are turning to third - party operators, which are independent companies whose workers are not automatically covered by the Culinary contract.

On the surface, this year's talks, affecting about 50,000 hotel and restaurant service workers citywide, mirror the process from 2002, when industry unity folded under the threat of a strike. Five years ago Harrah's was among the first to sign a deal with the union, which in turn led MGM Mirage to agree to some terms it considered unfair.

But the industry has changed considerably since . MGM Mirage bought Mandalay Resort Group for $7.9 billion in 2005, for instance, becoming far and away the largest employer of union help in town. And industry insiders expect the company to break tradition this year by using its newfound stature to challenge the Culinary.

For its part, the union hopes the Harrah's deal will again set the stage for the other operators. Union members are to vote to ratify the agreement today, and Culinary leaders declined to discuss specifics.

"We are pleased that the negotiating committee was able to achieve its goal of protecting the 'Las Vegas Dream' for workers at the Harrah's properties," D. Taylor, Culinary secretary-treasurer, said in a statement Friday. "Harrah's was committed to maintaining and strengthening the Las Vegas Dream for our members and we hope that others in Nevada will see the example they have set."

The Culinary Union is getting some big-name help. Four Democratic presidential candidates - Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson - issued statements in support of the settlement, saying it set the standard for other operators.

Still, MGM Mirage is taking a hard line. In a statement, the company said its financial analysts would scrutinize the Harrah's deal closely, and expressed disappointment that the union had "apparently broken" Las Vegas' long tradition of pattern bargaining.

In recent weeks MGM Mirage has said that it would seek a deal similar to the one casino mogul Steve Wynn engineered for Wynn Las Vegas in 2005. That contract, a 10-year pact, links pay raises to the consumer price index.

"Rather than continue the practice that has brought considerable success to both sides of these negotiations, it appears the union is now comfortable negotiating separate deals with each different company," MGM Mirage spokesman Gordon Absher said.

In fact, the Culinary has been gearing up members for a fight for more than a month.

Publicly, the union's rhetoric has been biting, and labor leaders have singled out MGM Mirage in their series of contract briefings with Democratic presidential candidates. Last week, before introducing Sen. Joe Biden, Taylor said simply, "The company has made a big mistake."

He criticized MGM Mirage for leaking details of its economic proposal to reporters before officially presenting it to members of the union's negotiating committee.

Culinary President Geoconda Arguello Kline railed against the company for its attempts to limit card check-neutrality at CityCenter. "They want to move us backward," she said. "We're not going to let it happen. We're going to make them share."

Both sides said talks will resume next week, in a series of sessions that are expected to be long and hard-fought.