bomber wrote on July 01, 2008 11:40 AM: Hey Tami, i am a dealer here, not at the rio but another Harrahs property and i know first hand that yes the properties have improved customer service is better but our benefits get worse every year. we have lost half of our 401k match and benefits have gone sky high. over the last 3 years my raises versus benefits cost have increased my salary a total of 3 cents more an hour. not enough to cover anything else that has gone up.
This is why we are pushing for the union!

Michael L. Gooch wrote on June 09, 2008 04:51 PM: Casinos use tactics to intimidate and scare workers? I have worked on both sides of this issue in my 40 year career. I have seen union organizers shoot out the windows in a single mother's home - with her and her kids inside! I witnessed a single woman that ran a small ranch have all of her livestock killed because she had crossed a picket line. I have seen concrete blocks dropped from interstate overpasses onto trucks carrying supplies and materials to a plant that was one strike. In addition, I have been involved where the Washington, D.C. leadership of a union has over-ridden the "democratic" vote of it's membership and rejected a strike vote all in the name of "keeping those dues flowing." In my management book, Wingtips with Spurs, I devote an entire chapter to labor relations. While in general, I am not a union hater (in fact, I have several union friends) I can not tolerate someone saying that companies engage in dubious tactics and fail to mention the history of unions.
Michael L. Gooch www.michaellgooch.com

Friday The 13th Vote YES! wrote on June 09, 2008 08:24 AM: Security guards on Strip seek to organize

At Luxor, targeted first, owner MGM Mirage fights back with carrots and sticks


Published Mon, Apr 21, 2008

Security guards are trying to organize a union on the Strip, and the move has brought a strong response from casino giant MGM Mirage.

The guards are seeking representation by the International Union of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America. They complain of inadequate training and unsafe staffing levels, low pay and other ills.

The casinos are fighting back, claiming that guards will get a better deal if they don’t organize. That argument worked 13 years ago, the last time guards mounted a serious organizing effort.

The first test this time will be at the Luxor, where a representation election is scheduled for Friday. Elections at other properties will follow, said Steve Maritas, the union’s director of organizing.

The national union is targeting MGM Mirage, which has a five-year bargaining agreement with the union at the company’s MGM Grand in Detroit. The company agreed not to campaign against the union in Detroit but is taking a tougher stand in Las Vegas.

Management is holding one-on-one meetings with guards at the Luxor. The company is trying to prevent a domino effect at other casinos by conducting mandatory meetings at Mandalay Bay, whose 300 officers compose the company’s single largest security force, Maritas said. (The union filed an election petition for Mandalay Bay guards with the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday.)

Under U.S. labor law, an employer has the right to hold so-called captive audiences during an organizing drive, provided that employees are paid for their time. Employers are precluded from making promises or leveling threats though, and the union says the Luxor is playing dirty. The union

DVS wrote on June 08, 2008 03:26 PM: Hey JJ. If the TWU is really only in this for the dues, then after all the contracts are signed and the union reps go back to NYC, that still leaves a bunch of dealers running the local. Dealers looking out for dealers huh? Doesn't sound like that bad of a proposition to me!! Especially when it's obvious that the corporations are not looking out for us!! Plus I can tell you from personal experience that the union reps are good people and are not in this only for the "dues". You are severely misinformed about unions. Misinformation is one of the tools greedy corporations use to bust unions and they've been doing it for years. Oh and Tami, why are you writing about things you know nothing about?

JJ wrote on June 06, 2008 10:26 PM: Before you bash the hotel any further, check out the TWU union (or any other Union for that matter) on the Dept of Labor website. You may learn that Unions promise a lot but deliver very little. Bottom line, they want you to pay Union dues and have little interest in anything else.

Many think voting in a Union is the answer to everything, but be careful what you wish for. It's easy to vote them in, but a lot harder to vote them out.

debbie wrote on June 06, 2008 06:58 PM: Everyone that has ever worked for a corporation of this size knows that "it's all about the BOTTOM LINE"!
Dealers are right to fear for thier tips! It' already happening in other states and will happen here sooner then you think.

homeless in Las Vegas wrote on June 06, 2008 04:35 PM: It makes me sick, after reading about the astronomical salaries of the gaming executives, how they can deny their employees basic health coverage. They are all a bunch of greedy scumbags. The Fertitas, being the top two paid gaming executives, should be ashamed of themselves. Being the greedy lot they are, they are not.

Norman P. wrote on June 06, 2008 03:50 PM: Based on the fact that 3 major airlines are cutting back their flights to Vegas by 23-25%, it's obvious that fairly soon, "extra board" employees will be the majority. Remember, if you work less than 20 hours a week, you don't even have Workers Comp coverage. So if you break your neck in the casino, it's "go to the emergency room with all the illegals" and lose your house time. This is getting bad....

homeless in Las Vegas wrote on June 06, 2008 03:04 PM: Auricchio, one of the dealers who is backing a bid to organize dealers at the resort, said that without a union, the dealers could be let go and asked to reapply for their jobs with no guarantees if the property were sold.

You mean like Stations did when they bought the Santa Fe? Maybe, if Stations dealers joined the union, they wouldn't have to worry about being treated like yesterdays trash or denied benefits (including holiday pay, vacation time and health benefits) by keeping a large percentage of employees on 'extra board', 'part time' or 'on call.'

Tami wrote on June 06, 2008 02:12 PM: I feel quite the opposite. I believe the Rio has improved tremendously since the sale to Harrah's Entertainment. Everything has improved considerably. I'm not sure what it would be like to work at that property, however I would think that benefits would be improved with the larger owned casino company rather the single owner. I think some people just don't like change....and also fear change and I can respect that.

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