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Las Vegas Strike Prospects Debated

LAS VEGAS - Chief negotiators for labor and management disagreed Tuesday over the prospects for a quick settlement in ongoing talks that could avert the first citywide gaming strike in 18 years.

Mandalay Resort Group Senior Vice President Mike Sloan said neither side wants a work stoppage and deals will likely be struck before a union imposed June 1 deadline for a work stoppage.

"To allow a strike to occur would be irresponsible on the part of both of us," said Sloan, who is considered by union negotiators to be an industry hardliner. "Each side is going to have to give a little."

But John Wilhelm, who is the lead negotiator for the 47,000 members of Culinary Local 226 and Bartender's Local 165, said he is troubled by the lack of progress in ongoing contract talks with the Strip's four major gaming operators.

"We're not close to an agreement with any company, and I'm very concerned about that," Wilhelm said. "Tomorrow will be 16 days to go, and that's very alarming because all of these companies will be negotiating separately."

Negotiations continued during the day between labor and management, with Park Place Entertainment taking its turn.

Union officials delivered a counterproposal to Park Place's Thursday offer that saw the company offer the unions a $1.05-an-hour increase for health benefits, wages and job training over 2 and a half years. No agreement was reached between the two sides.

Wilhelm declined to discuss details of the counteroffer, saying he did not wish to negotiate contract terms through the news media.

The labor leader, who heads the Culinary's parent union, the Hotel Employees and Restaurants Employees International Union, characterized Tuesday's talks as "constructive," a term that was also used by Park Place spokesman Robert Stewart in discussing the day's session.

The unions are seeking an additional $1.45-per-hour over two years with the bulk of the money going to their health insurance plan, which pays workers' full premiums and is battling skyrocketing expenses.

Labor leaders are also asking for decreased workloads for an estimated 9,000 housekeepers who clean 15 to 17 hotel rooms daily and make up the union's large job classification.

Harrah's Entertainment, Mandalay Resort Group and MGM Mirage also have delivered offers in recent days, but none matches the terms sought by the unions.

"We're not near an agreement with anybody," Wilhelm said. "We run a real risk of a major collision here in this town, which would be a terrible thing."

The unions are scheduled to hold a Thursday strike authorization vote, which would precede the May 31 expiration of union contracts at 35 Las Vegas-area casinos, which would affect about half of the Strip workforce. Approval of the authorization vote would not automatically imply a strike will be called, Wilhelm noted.

"That's gotten lost in most of the publicity," he said.

A Culinary representative is scheduled to appear today before Gov. Kenny Guinn's tax panel and explain the potential impact of a citywide work stoppage on the budgets of state and local governments.

The city's casino revenues fell by nearly 10 percent during the last major strike in 1984. A similar decline would approximate the dropoff in the casinos' gambling take since the fall travel decline.

"The potential of a labor dispute at all the casinos or a substantial portion of the casinos will have serious consequences for the state budget," said Glen Arnodo, the Culinary union's political director.

As the strike deadline approaches, Wilhelm said the big four's decision to negotiate separately on most terms has made it logistically more challenging to reach an agreement that would avoid a strike.

"I don't know how you do that if they're all negotiating separately," he noted.

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