FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Media Contact:
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Palace Station Becomes Union as Station Casinos Agrees to NLRB Settlement
Culinary & Bartenders Union sends letter requesting negotiating dates
LAS VEGAS, NV – Yesterday, Station Casinos agreed to a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which made Palace Station its second hotel-casino in Las Vegas to be unionized, with its workers now represented by the Culinary & Bartenders Unions. In addition, the company agreed to reimburse Boulder Station workers who were unfairly denied lower healthcare costs after they voted to unionize last fall.
The settlement agreement comes after the unions requested that the NLRB investigate alleged illegal behavior by Palace Station leading up to a union election last October. The unions fell four votes short of winning the election.
Station Casinos announced a few hours after the Boulder election in September, which the union won in a landslide, that the company was going to lower monthly healthcare premiums for every casino property in Las Vegas except for newly unionized Boulder Station workers. One month later, shortly after the unions filed for an election at Palace Station, the company notified non-unionized workers that their lower premium rate would remain throughout 2017. The company also granted other valuable benefits to workers at Palace Station as they faced their choice to unionize, pleading with workers to give management “a chance” to improve working conditions without a union.
Both the U.S. Supreme Court and the NLRB have ruled that tactics like these violate the National Labor Relations Act. After investigating charges of unfair labor practices filed by the unions, the Regional Director of the Las Vegas Region of the NLRB indicated that he would seek an order requiring Station Casinos to correct the alleged violations and bargain with Palace Station workers. Station Casinos has now agreed to settle the charges, and recognize Palace Station as union. It also agreed to make whole Boulder Station employees for the difference in health plan premium payments.
The unions and Boulder Station workers’ negotiation committee have been in contract talks with Boulder Station since December, and Palace Station workers will soon join in bargaining.
“We commend the Palace Station workers for their courage and resilience in the face of the company’s massive anti-union campaign.” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “We look forward to starting contract negotiations so that workers can have fair wages, job security, and good health benefits.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATION CASINOS: “WE WILL NOT fail or refuse to bargain in good faith with the Union
for a collective-bargaining agreement covering the Palace Unit employees.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the Northern California tribal casino managed by Station Casinos, workers ratified a first union contract October 2015. Last year, workers at the company’s Boulder Station neighborhood casino in east Las Vegas voted to unionize. Palace Station is the third property in the Station Casinos portfolio to unionize.
Workers at Station Casinos have long demanded a fair process to exercise their right to choose whether to unionize. Recent changes to NLRB rules created new opportunities for workers to decide whether to unionize through a federally supervised election in spite of continued prospect of management interference, intimidation, bullying, and litigation. Workers at Boulder Station and Palace Station filed for union elections under these new rules.
Since last September, Station Casinos has hired anti-union consultants from Labor Relations Specialist LLC, including Ricardo Pasalagua, to conduct mandatory meetings to urge its workers to vote against the union.
Station Casinos is partially owned by Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ: RRR) and controlled by the Fertitta family. Aside from Palace Station, the company’s other major properties include: Boulder Station, Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, Green Valley Ranch, Palms, Red Rock Resort, Santa Fe Station, Sunset Station, and Texas Station.
ABOUT THE CULINARY UNION:
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 the 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 82 years.
The Culinary Union encourages the public to stay away from Nevada hotels and casinos involved in active labor disputes such as most of the Station Casinos properties, including Palms, Red Rock Resort, and Green Valley Ranch. (We note that the company’s Boulder Station does not currently have a labor dispute.) To see the list of hotels and casinos in an active labor dispute, go to: VegasTravelAlert.org.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
###
Palace Station Se Sindicaliza a la vez que Station Casinos Acepta un Acuerdo de la NLRB
La Unión Culinaria y de los Cantineros envía una carta pidiendo fechas para negociar
LAS VEGAS, NV – Ayer Station Casinos aceptó un acuerdo con la Junta Nacional de Relaciones Laborales (National Labor Relations Board, NLRB por sus siglas en inglés), lo cual convirtió a Palace Station en su segundo hotel-casino en Las Vegas en sindicalizarse, y sus trabajadores ahora son representados por la Unión Culinaria y la Unión de Cantineros (Culinary & Bartenders Unions). Además, la empresa aceptó reembolsar a los trabajadores de Boulder Station a quienes se les negaron injustamente costos más bajos por su seguro de salud después de haber votado para sindicalizarse el pasado otoño.
Este acuerdo llega después de que los sindicatos solicitaron que la NLRB investigara presuntos comportamientos ilegales cometidos por Palace Station al acercarse la fecha de las elecciones sindicales el pasado mes de octubre. A los sindicatos les faltaron cuatro votos para ganar las elecciones.
Varias horas después de las elecciones en Boulder que se llevaron a cabo en septiembre, las cuales la unión ganó de manera aplastante, Station Casinos anunció que la empresa reduciría las primas mensuales del seguro médico en cada una de las propiedades de casino en Las Vegas menos para los trabajadores de Boulder Station que recientemente se había sindicalizado. Un mes más tarde, que fue poco después de que los sindicatos solicitaran llevar a cabo unas elecciones en Palace Station, la compañía les notificó a los trabajadores sin sindicato que sus primas se mantendrían a lo largo del 2017. También, la empresa les otorgó otros valiosos beneficios a los trabajadores de Palace Station cuando pronto enfrentarían la opción de sindicalizarse, rogándole a los trabajadores que le dieran a la administración “una oportunidad” de mejorar las condiciones de trabajo sin tener sindicato.
Tanto la Corte Suprema de EE.UU. y la NLRB han dictaminado que tácticas como estas violan la Ley Nacional de Relaciones Laborales (National Labor Relations Act). Después de investigar las acusaciones que presentaron los sindicatos de usar prácticas laborales injustas, el director de la región de Las Vegas con la NLRB indicó que trataría de obtener una orden que obligara a Station Casinos a corregir las presuntas violaciones y negociar con los trabajadores de Palace Station. Ahora Station Casinos ha accedido resolver los cargos, y a reconocer que Palace Station está sindicalizado. Asimismo quedó de acuerdo en compensar a los empleados de Boulder Station por la diferencia en los pagos de las primas del seguro médico.
Desde diciembre los sindicatos y el comité de negociaciones, compuesto por trabajadores de Boulder Station, han estado en charlas para llegar a un contrato con Boulder Station, y pronto los trabajadores de Palace Station se unirán a las negociaciones.
“Les aplaudimos a los trabajadores de Palace Station por su valentía y resistencia frente a la masiva campaña anti sindicalista de la empresa.” dijo Geoconda Argüello-Kline, Secretaria-Tesorera de la Unión Culinaria. “Estamos deseosos por comenzar las negociaciones de los contratos para que los trabajadores puedan tener sueldos justos, seguridad laboral, y buenos beneficios médicos.”