Culinary union presses Station Casinos to begin contract talks

The Culinary union is urging Station Casinos to accept November bargaining dates following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for contract talks at Red Rock Resort. Chief Justice John Roberts denied the casino's emergency application to stay a federal appeals court mandate on Sept. 4, rejecting the attempt to delay enforcement without explanation.

At a news conference Tuesday at its Las Vegas headquarters, the union celebrated what Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge called a "monumental decision" in its 17-year battle with Station Casinos. "Chief Justice John Roberts and the Supreme Court has said, 'You must sit down and bargain with the Red Rock workers,'" Pappageorge said. "We are in communications with the company. We have offered bargaining dates in November and we are asking them to sit down and begin these negotiations and to move pen to paper."

A Station Casinos spokesperson said the company will comply with the court order but continues to object to the underlying National Labor Relations Board decision, which was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in June. "The NLRB decision overturned the clear vote of Red Rock team members rejecting the Culinary Union," the spokesperson said. "It prevents any company from granting benefits to its employees if it is aware of union interest in unionizing the company's employees, and it nullifies the Red Rock team members' vote to be union-free, all because Station Casinos treated its team members 'too well.'"

The NLRB's 2024 order requires Red Rock to recognize and bargain with the Local Joint Executive Board of Las Vegas, affiliated with Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165, upon request. It also mandates that the casino post notices for 60 days and mail them to current and former bargaining-unit employees who have worked at the property since September 2019. The notices affirm that the company will not coercively question workers about union support, promise benefits to discourage unionization, threaten benefit loss, or threaten job loss due to strikes.

The order stems from a December 2019 union election that the Culinary union lost. The NLRB subsequently found that Red Rock committed numerous unfair labor practices during that campaign, including coercive conduct and discriminatory actions against union supporters. Red Rock disputes those findings.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal