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Casino Dealers Picket Tropicana

LAS VEGAS -- Table games dealers picketed the Tropicana Wednesday in hopes of landing a union contract at the south Strip property.

About 30 dealers from the Tropicana and other Strip casinos braved colder-than-normal November temperatures as they passed out informational fliers and waved picket signs in support of efforts by the Transport Workers Union of America to negotiate a contract with Tropicana management.

The dealers picketed the Tropicana three weeks ago, and plan to continue the actions until they land a contract, TWU organizing director Tim Grandfield said.

Tropicana dealers and TWU bargaining committee member Tony Santoro said his employer hasn't been bargaining in good faith.

"They've tried to make their contract offers as unpalatable as possible," Santoro said as he waved his picket sign while standing at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. "Their first offer said they wanted the right to stop us from accepting tips, and in their next offer they wanted to take away our retirement savings plans."

The Tropicana employs about 160 table games dealers.

Tropicana craps dealer Bill Steinbarth said tourists passing by on the pedestrian overpass connecting the MGM Grand and the Tropicana were receptive to the dealers' message.

"Some have said they weren't interested because they're from out of town or they don't gamble, but most have been very nice," Steinbarth said. "Some have told us they would stay away from the Tropicana, but we tell them to go ahead and go there, that this is an informational picketing only, not a strike."

Grandfield said the TWU plans to ratchet up the pressure on the property if negotiations don't work. The union already is conducting informational pickets at McCarran International Airport, handing out fliers to passengers near the baggage claim areas.

The union and Tropicana have a mediation session scheduled for Dec. 6.

"If they aren't bargaining in good faith, we'll start putting people at airports around the country, letting passengers know how we're being treated," Grandfield said. "If that doesn't work, then we'd call for a boycott of the Tropicana. If that doesn't work, then we'll strike."

Tropicana President Hector Mon declined through a property spokeswoman to answer questions about Wednesday's picketing.

Mon issued a statement expressing concern that the TWU was passing out leaflets in front of the property "at a time of declining tourism and job losses in Las Vegas and despite the fact that there are ongoing contract negotiations.

"As with all labor negotiations, especially for a first-time contract, time is necessary to come to a well thought-out agreement," Mon's statement noted. "Given the difficult economic circumstances that we face, we would hope that the TWU would take into consideration what is in the best interest of all employees as opposed to pursuing public relations ploys that could cause further harm."

Table games dealers have never been able to negotiate a union contract at a Las Vegas casino, but dealers at the Tropicana, Stratosphere and New Frontier voted last winter to have the TWU represent them in contract negotiations.

The three union victories were the first wins by a union attempting to represent dealers since Teamsters Local 14 won elections at the Frontier in 1977 and 1981.

The Teamsters local wasn't able to reach a contract agreement with the Frontier's management after those votes.

The TWU's Grandfield said the union chose to picket the Tropicana because negotiations with the New Frontier and the Stratosphere have been more fruitful.

"We're making more progress with those casinos," Grandfield said. "We're close to contracts at the Frontier and the Stratosphere."

The TWU lost eight of the 11 Las Vegas dealers' representation votes last winter, including all of the elections at casinos owned by Strip heavyweights MGM Mirage, Park Place Entertainment and Mandalay Resort Group.

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