The Las Vegas Culinary Union lost its bid to organize workers vote at Red Rock Resort, a Station Casinos property. Some 84 percent of the eligible workers turned up to vote and 627—54 percent—cast a no ballot, with 534 supporting unionization, according to a late December article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
More than 84 percent of workers turned up for a secret ballot over the course of several days, based on a Red Rock press release.
“Our great team members have spoken, and we thank them for their support,” said property Vice President and General Manager Scott Nelson in the release. “We believe there is no better place to work in Las Vegas and these election results validate that belief.”
Since 2016, the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and its affiliate Bartenders Local 165 have been successful in holding secret ballot representation votes, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, at six Station properties: Fiesta Rancho, Sunset Station, Boulder Station, Palace Station, Green Valley Ranch, and Palms. Fiesta Henderson workers joined in September. Station Casinos is the operating subsidy of Red Rock Resorts, considered the flagship property.
The union is Nevada’s largest labor organization and represents more than 60,000 guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, laundry and kitchen workers and bartenders at Strip and downtown properties.
The union accused the company of interfering with workers’ right to a fair election at Red Rock by making its health maintenance organization health plan premium and deductible-free just days before the voting. Red Rock also announced increase contributions to workers’ 401(k) accounts, the union said.
“We are confident that the National Labor Relations Board will find the company’s schemes illegal and order Red Rock Casino to recognize the union and bargain a contract,” said Geoconda Argüello-Kline, union secretary-treasurer, in a release. “We commend Red Rock workers for their courage and resilience in the face of the massive anti-union campaign the company waged against their own employees.”
Despite the outcome of the vote, Argüello-Kline said the union will continue to organize and is “confident that Red Rock workers will be able to join the Culinary Union family soon.”
Contracts have yet to be negotiated, and Red Rock Resorts, the corporate owners of Station Casinos, is challenging the election results in federal court.
The union long claimed a majority of Station Casinos’ eligible workforce signed a petition favoring the union and advocated a card-check process, which allows employees to organize if a majority sign union provided cards. The company opposed card check vote but wouldn’t stand in the way of a secret-ballot vote overseen by the NLRB, according to Review-Journal columnist Howard Stutz.
In the past two months, when Democratic presidential candidates have participated in union-sponsored town hall meetings with the membership, pointed comments have been directed toward Station Casinos. Former Vice President Joe Biden told members he wrote a letter to Red Rock Resorts CEO Frank Fertitta III in October, demanding the company negotiate a contract with its employees. He also returned a $5,000 campaign contribution from a Red Rock board member.
The union has publicized a September 2011 ruling against the company by an NLRB administrative law judge who found the casino operator committed 88 acts of unfair labor practices out of more than 400 claims. In January 2013, the NLRB said Station Casinos satisfied requirements imposed by the decision and closed the case.
