Workers Picket to Condemn Station Casinos’ Ongoing Anti-Union Campaign

Culinary and Bartenders Unions File Another Battery of Charges Against Station Casinos with Federal Labor Board

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Union workers from Las Vegas Strip and Downtown casinos are joining the Station Casinos Union Organizing Committee today to condemn the company’s decision to wage a vicious anti-union campaign against its own workers seeking to exercise their right under federal labor law to form a union. Workers will rally and picket in front of the Palace Station Hotel & Casino at 5pm.

“What we are experiencing on the job shows they have no interest in respecting our rights.”

“The company keeps saying they will respect our rights, but actions speak louder than words,” said William Fountain, Red Rock Houseperson and Organizing Committee Member. “What we are experiencing on the job shows they have no interest in respecting our rights.”

The Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, and Bartenders Union, Local 165, filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against Station Casinos with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on February 24, 2010 alleging the company violated federal labor law in over 100 incidences by threatening, surveilling, intimidating and even physically assaulting workers for their union activities. The NLRB has begun its investigation.

Despite the company’s repeated claims that it respects its workers’ right to form a union, reports of threats and intimidation have continued. Yesterday, the unions filed a battery of new charges against the company for allegedly continuing an illegal campaign against workers trying to form a union. The alleged illegal activity includes the continued use of threats, intimidation, and surveillance as well as issuing retaliatory disciplinary warnings and firing a union activist as a result of her activities.

The NLRB has informed Station Casinos that given the nature of the unfair labor practice allegations, the board may need to petition a federal district court for injunctive relief to prevent unfair labor practices pending the board’s full review of the case. “The NLRB does not take a step like this lightly,” said Richard McCracken, attorney for the Culinary union. “It speaks to the gravity of the charges and the seriousness of the board when it comes to ensuring workers’ rights are protected.”

Station Casinos’ aggressive anti-union behavior is leading to a growing ill will among the membership of the Culinary and Bartenders unions. Union members know many of the company’s more than 13,000 employees who are family, friends or the faces they see when they visit the company’s local casinos.

“I see Station Casinos all over town,” said Vince Lewis, MGM Signature Houseperson and Culinary member. “Now, when I see their casinos, all I think about is what the company is doing to its workers. It really makes me angry. Union workers have rights, a voice and a fair process. Station workers don’t and that has got to change.”

The Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, and Bartenders Union, Local 165 are both affiliates of UNITE HERE. The Culinary is the largest local labor union in the gaming industry. The Culinary represents approximately 55,000 casino and resort workers primarily on the Las Vegas Strip and in downtown Las Vegas.