Station Casinos under threat in Nevada
In Nevada and the Culinary Workers Union has reportedly called on the state’s gaming regulator to get involved in its gruelling labor feud with the Station Casinos brand of prominent casino operator Red Rock Resorts Incorporated.
According to a Thursday report from the Nevada Current online news source, the union has long been in dispute over its right to act as a bargaining agent and represent the casino company’s many employees. The source detailed that the group won the right to speak for workers at seven of the Las Vegas-headquartered firm’s facilities in 2016 but was subsequently thwarted when staff at two of these unexpectedly voted in favor of decertification.
Improper intimidation:
This clash was reportedly later further complicated by Red Rock Resorts Incorporated’s sale of its Palms Casino Resort venue alongside allegations that the operator had threatened workers with redundancy during the coronavirus pandemic if they opted to support the unionization exercise. This claim purportedly led the Culinary Workers Union to file an action before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as part of an effort to get the casino firm to agree to collective bargaining.
Dangerous decision:
As part of this court case and an administrative judge for the NLRB reportedly last year ruled that Red Rock Resorts Incorporated had ‘engaged in contumacious conduct by failing to respond fully to a federal subpoena’ the agency had issued. The Culinary Workers Union is now purportedly contending that this infraction represented a contravention of a licensing requirement for Nevada casino firms to run their businesses with honesty and integrity while maintaining ‘suitable operations.’
Plaintiff’s plea:
Ted Pappageorge (pictured) serves as the Secretary Treasurer for the Culinary Workers Union and he has now reportedly written to the Nevada Gaming Control Board to allege that Red Rock Resorts Incorporated is acting in an ‘unsuitable manner as it had displayed a disregard for federal law and legal process that reflects discredit on the Nevada gaming industry.’ The union figure purportedly went on to ask the regulator to take disciplinary action ‘up to and including revoking’ the operator’s casino license owing to ‘findings of suitability.’
Reportedly read a statement from Pappageorge…
“No one has a right to a revocable and privileged Nevada gaming license. Gaming regulators have a duty to make sure license-holders like Station Casinos are always operating in a way befitting Nevada’s gold standard of gaming industry regulation.”
Punishment potential:
This application has reportedly been met with a considerable amount of skepticism alongside defiance from Red Rock Resorts Incorporated, which currently runs nine casinos in ‘The Silver State.’ Nevertheless, Ruben Garcia, a law professor from the University of Nevada Las Vegas purportedly told the source that the Nevada Gaming Control Board ‘does have jurisdiction over federal law violations on licensed properties’ while the operator’s alleged infraction could be seen as ‘a violation of federal law under the National Labor Relations Act.’
A statement from Red Rock Resorts Incorporated reportedly read…
“The Culinary Workers Union seems unable to win the hearts and minds of our team members so it just continues with its harassment and its thuggish attempts to intimidate Station Casinos, whose employees voted us the top casino employer in Las Vegas.”
