SEARCH NEWS:

 

Dealers Reject Union at NY-NY

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Feb. 19, 2001 -- A string of losses for the Transport Workers Union continued Saturday, when dealers at the New York-New York hotel-casino voted heavily against organizing under the TWU.

Two hundred fifty-one dealers at the MGM MIRAGE property voted against representation by the TWU, while 57 voted in favor and 15 did not vote. The margin of more than 4-1 against was the most lopsided vote seen so far in the campaign.

"Tonight dealers at New York-New York reaffirmed that the best way for them to secure their future is to continue to work closely with our management team," said Felix Rappaport, president of the hotel-casino. "This union has displayed a complete lack of understanding of the simple truth that our dealers and management work on the same team."

Frank Trotti, organizer for the TWU, blamed the loss on confusion caused by mandatory meetings with "union busters."

"They have to understand (when they vote) that they aren't going against management, they're trying to get respect from management," Trotti said. "The thing I don't understand is that everyone around them (in the hotel-casino) is union, and they're the most powerful group. (After the votes), there's a lot of onus put on these corporations to see what they do (with respect to dealer concerns)."

With eight elections now complete, dealers at two Strip properties -- the Tropicana and the Stratosphere -- have voted in favor of the union. Dealers at the MGM Grand, New York-New York, Las Vegas Hilton, Bally's Las Vegas, Monte Carlo and Riviera have voted against. The TWU still faces the task of successfully negotiating a collective bargaining agreement at the Tropicana and Stratosphere.

The next vote for the TWU comes Friday at the New Frontier, site of the only other successful vote to organize dealers in Las Vegas history. Dealers at the north Strip property voted in 1977 and 1981 to be represented by Teamsters Local 14, but the union was ultimately unable to come to terms on a contract. It pulled out of the Frontier in 1987.

The final votes for in the current campaign come March 3 at the Excalibur and March 10 at Treasure Island.

< Gaming News