Employees at several Station Casinos properties have decided to unionize over the past couple of years, much to the dismay of the company’s brass. Nonetheless, they did, they voted, they won, but Station refused to honor the move. It tried to appeal the results of the unionization vote and pleaded with a DC Circuit Court judge to see things its way. As that appeal has now been rejected, Station is going to have to do what it should have done from the start – negotiate with the unions and the 900 employees at Green Valley Ranch Casino.
According to a press release from Bethany Khan of Culinary Union 226, which represents a large portion of casino workers in Las Vegas, Station’s appeal dealt specifically with Green Valley employees’ efforts to unionize, although other properties are facing the same scenario. The casino operator, which is run by the Fertitta brothers, Frank III and Lorenzo, had fought attempts at unionization since the word was first uttered. Despite the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) already blasting it for its efforts, calling them unlawful, the company continued its fight.
Not any longer, though. With the court’s rejection of the appeal, it will have no choice but to work with the union and acquiesce to certain conditions stipulations set forth by the employees and their union representatives. NLRB Region 28, which oversees Arizona, New Mexico and certain counties in Nevada and Texas, is going to enforce the approved unionization efforts, and the Culinary Union has already reached out to Station in order to establish dates to sit down at the negotiating table.
The unionization efforts came as employees felt less secure about their positions with the company. As Green Valley bartender Mike Wagner explains, “It’s time for Station Casinos to do the right thing and agree to a contract. I voted ‘YES’ to unionize because I have felt insecure going to work every day and not knowing what would happen to my job. One day our HMO is free and the next day it wasn’t. One day some of workers had a job and the next day they didn’t. I want guaranteed peace of mind – that’s a contract.”
The NLRB has reportedly ordered Station to post a notice to its Green Valley employees in which it indicates that it will “follow the law and not make any more changes regarding worker’s wagers, hours, and rights” before first discussing those changes with the applicable unions. It will also have to reverse any changes implemented since the employees voted to unionize in 2017.
Culinary Union 226 Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline added in the statement, “It’s shameful that Station Casinos has spent years fighting the democratic votes of their employees. Workers voted to have a union contract that would guarantee their protections on the job so they could provide for their families without being worried. We look forward to negotiating and winning a contract at Green Valley Ranch.”
With the rejection of the appeal, Station will at least have to consider whether or not it wants to stop unionization efforts at its other properties. In addition to Green Valley, employees at six other Station casinos have been pushing to join their respective unions.
