Workers at Station Casinos’ Green Valley Ranch have voted to unionize under the auspices of UNITE HERE’s Culinary Local 226.
The union said 730 workers participated in a two-day election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, and 78 percent voted for the union. About 900 Green Valley Ranch workers will be represented by the Culinary and Bartenders Union Local 165, the Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE.
The resort, located in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, is the fourth Station property to unionize since 2015, when the company’s Indian-owned Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, Calif., became the first to finalize a contract. Workers at the company’s Boulder Station casino hotel in Las Vegas voted to unionize last September, followed by Palace Station, also in Las Vegas, this March.
“We have said all along that if a fair and lawful election is held we will abide by the results,” said Station President Richard Haskins.
Which is not to say the company and the union have always agreed on what constitutes “fair and lawful.”
Last year, the Culinary filed a complaint with the NLRB over the company’s conduct during an initial election at Palace Station, which resulted in the union’s defeat by four votes. Station settled to avoid a protracted dispute.
The company has indicated it’s not pleased with the Green Valley Ranch outcome either.
“We are obviously disappointed with the election result and are also disappointed with the manner in which the union conducted the Green Valley Ranch election campaign,” Haskins said. “We are assessing the situation and appropriate next steps.”
He didn’t elaborate.
