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Housekeepers Step to Forefront of Labour Dispute

LAS VEGAS - At first glance it looks like a traditional labor-management dispute. But a key group of workers - Hispanic housekeepers- has come to the forefront in the negotiations between casino executives and leaders of Culinary Local 226.

The women who make up the largest job classification within the 45,000-member union have become a vocal force in their push for reduced workloads.

To some casino executives the 9,000 maids are little more than sympathetic pawns in the public relations master plan of union leaders John Wilhelm and D. Taylor.

"I think D. and Wilhelm are as much pandering to room attendants as much as anything," said one casino industry executive who requested anonymity. "The women are very aggressive, and if the union doesn't produce for them they're very capable of going out and finding ... new leaders."

Others say the women reflect the burgeoning influence of Spanish-speaking immigrants in the political, economic and cultural structure of the Las Vegas Valley.

"It's in the early stages, but there are more and more people saying, 'This is not just about what's going in the workplace, but it's also about what's going on in the schools, the city,' " said Mayra Ocampo, a program director for the local chapter of the Interfaith Council for Worker Justice.

"Las Vegas is growing, and we have more and more Latinos and people willing to stand up for their rights."

Clark County's Hispanic population grew to 302,143 from 82,904 between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Hispanics now make up 22 percent of the county's population vs. 11 percent in 1990.

With that surge has come a change in the Culinary's composition, especially in housekeeping, where white and black workers once dominated the scene.

Now the jobs are filled by Latinas, the vast majority of whom are from Mexico, speak limited English and are often the sole wage earners in their families.

The union's next president, Geoconda Kline, who takes office early next month, is a Latin American native and former housekeeper.

At a series of recent union rallies, Kline spoke Spanish to union members, often translating the phrases of the Culinary's top elected official, D. Taylor, so the crowds could understand his English words.

"The face of the union is changing. The demographics are the union are changing with labor reaching out to immigrants because the immigrant community in many cases is most in need of organization," said Culinary political director Glen Arnodo.

"I think what you're feeling is the beginning of a social movement."

Southern California labor organizer Miguel Contreras has witnessed the trend in his region of the country. A largely white area is transformed into a multicultural setting, and with it comes a variety of new issues and players who drive the agenda.

Contreras, who heads the 810,000-member Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, said he is not familiar with the specifics of the casino-labor talks.

Labor leaders are seeking to protect the health insurance benefits of their members, who currently see their premiums paid by employers. Housekeepers want lighter workloads, arguing that the larger Strip hotel rooms of the past decade have created a back-breaking crush of work.

The city's largest gaming operators - Mandalay Resort Group, MGM Mirage, Park Place Entertainment and Harrah's Entertainment - have offered a mix of wage and benefit increases, but no agreement has been reached as a June 1 strike deadline nears. Negotiations are scheduled through Sunday.

The health-care issue and the demand for a lighter workload are deal breakers for many housekeepers, something Contreras said is not that surprising.

"When you're attacking the health plan you're attacking the Latino family," he said. "This issue of health benefits is of such vital concern to Latino families that if (the casino executives) are not careful they'll stir up the hornets nest, and they'll fight in the streets to protect the health plan."

Las Vegas housekeepers are scheduled to return to a Strip sidewalk just north of the MGM Grand on Monday, where they will be joined by their children to pass out union leaflets and lemonade to passing tourists.

Casino executives say they are troubled by the tactic, believing it would be best for union organizers to focus their efforts on the negotiating table rather than bothering vacationers. But Hispanic labor and social activists say otherwise.

"Hopefully, we avert this stuff and get back to business because we never recovered from 9-11," Contreras said, "but this is a no-win situation for the casinos. This is a public relations nightmare. I can just see the pictures of maids on the picket lines with their children in newspapers and on TV news stations up and down the West Coast and throughout California."

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