MEDIA ADVISORY FOR
Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 9am
WHERE: Nevada Gaming Control Board (555 East Washington Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89101)
WHO: Workers from the Palms Casino Resort, Aliante Casino
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Nevada political leaders concerned for hundreds of workers; Call on private equity firms TPG and Leonard Green to protect jobs at the Palms
Las Vegas, NV —Nevada elected officials are calling upon the owners of the Palms Casino to guarantee that workers’ jobs will be protected during the casino’s pending ownership transition. In May, the Palms announced a sale that is likely to close within a few months.
The politicians signed letters to current private equity owners of the Palms Casino, TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners as well as the buyer, Red Rock Resorts. The letters note that it is standard practice in the Las Vegas gaming industry for workers to keep their jobs and their years of service to be counted when a casino is sold.
Endorsers of the letter included:
US Representative Dina Titus
Nevada Senator Ruben Kihuen
Nevada Senator Mark Manendo
Nevada Senator Tick Segerblom
Nevada Assemblymember Nelson Araujo
Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani
The politicians asked private equity owners and the buyer to ensure that Palms employees will be able to retain their jobs with no loss in seniority or benefits and that they and their families will not be left behind as a result of this change in ownership.
The letters note several examples from Las Vegas of other casino sales where jobs were preserved; workers were retained without being fired or required to reapply for their jobs when Harrah’s purchased The Rio in 1998, Boyd purchased the Coast properties in 2004, Harrah’s purchased Imperial Palace in 2005, an investor group purchased The Aladdin in 2007, and private-equity firm Blackstone purchased the Cosmopolitan in 2014.
Most recently, Boyd Gaming, after announcing its purchase of the Aliante and the two Cannery Casinos, has made a commitment to retain workers without asking them to reapply. Boyd has also committed that workers will not be displaced and, at the time of the ownership transition, to honor workers’ wage rates, vacations, and vacation accruals, among other things.
The letters come at a time when private equity’s main advocacy organization, the American Investment Council, released a report highlighting that “private equity invests in every state and nearly every congressional district in our country” and how “investment has helped to support over 4.5 million jobs across the United States.”[i]
The letters request a response on whether workforce retention was part of the purchase agreement and ask: “If it was not, please let us know what you intend to do to ensure that Palms employees will be able to retain their jobs with no loss in seniority or benefits and that they and their families will not be left behind as a result of this change in ownership at a revived Palms.”
Palms workers will address the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 9am to note the importance of job stability for the welfare and quality of life for workers in Nevada’s gaming industry.
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent over 57,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 270,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest immigrant organization with over 57,000 members - a diverse membership that is approximately 55% women and 56% Latino. Members -who work as guest room attendants, bartenders, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and kitchen workers- come from 167 countries and speak over 40 different languages. The Culinary Union has been fighting for fair wages, job security, and good health benefits for working men and women in Nevada for over 80 years.
The Culinary Union is encouraging Nevada locals, political candidates, and tourists to avoid staying at/or patronizing hotels under an active labor dispute such as Station Casinos, Palms Casino Resort, and the Trump Hotel Las Vegas. To see the full list properties with an active labor dispute, go to: VegasTravelAlert.org.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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