SECRETARY TREASURER’S REPORT
TERRY GREENWALD

How time flies, it’s already the middle of February 2007; hopefully all our members are looking forward to great New Year.

In a little over three months, on May 31st our Collective Bargaining Agreements with most of our employers will expire and there is much work to be done to secure great new contracts for the coming years. Maintaining our free family health coverage, securing our pensions, and securing our guaranteed workweeks are some of the main priorities.

The Las Vegas Hotel/Casino business has changed over the years; Food & Beverage has become a major part of the income at Strip hotels where the casinos gaming operations have taken a back seat and the demands for bartender skills have stepped up drastically. Major hotels are bringing in famous chefs and are constantly striving to have their restaurants obtain a 5-star rating. Today, these jobs are among the most lucrative for bartenders. Those bartenders desiring to work in these restaurants must be willing to upgrade their skills. Nightclubs are in most of the major casinos today and we must be able to negotiate with our employers for the bartenders who desire and are qualified to work in those clubs and be able to obtain those shifts.

As you already know, there are two major corporations in Las Vegas with one being the MGM Mirage, who employs over 40 percent of our members. Harrah’s is the largest gaming company in the United States and is second to the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas, but as you know, gaming corporation owners change in the blink of an eye. Who would have thought that after Harrah’s purchase of Caesars Entertainment Properties last year that now Harrah’s is being purchased by two holding companies out of Texas (i.e., Texas Pacific Group and Apollo Management) for more than $27 billion dollars. Beyond those two major companies, we must secure contracts for our members at many other hotels such as the Sahara, Riviera, Tropicana, Las Vegas Hilton and of course, all our downtown properties.

Terry Presents Back Pay To Randy Reyes.

The Tropicana Hotel was just purchased by Columbia Sussex, the Riviera is in the midst of a sale with numerous bidders, and the Golden Nugget has a new owner that purchased it in 2006. So as you can see, the ownership in the gaming business continues to rapidly change.

The Stardust Hotel closed its doors and is tentatively scheduled to be imploded sometime in March to make way for the new Echelon Place to be completed in 2010. The MGM City Project is well on its way for a 2009 completion date and will employ thousands of our bartenders and culinary members. The Frontier Hotel that many thought would close for a major project during 2006 will stay open for sometime, but as we all know, all the old Strip Hotels will probably be imploded over the coming years to make way for bigger and newer projects.

One of the helpful things in our contract negotiations is the fact that gaming companies are multi-state. Contracts in Detroit also expire in 2007, and in our fight our members in New Jersey, Mississippi, and around the United States will be there for us. On Health & Welfare, our hospital contracts expire this year. They also are owned by major corporations based outside Las Vegas and their only interest is in their profit margin. It is important that we negotiate fair contracts with our hospitals to keep our Health & Welfare costs down, so that money can go into raises instead of Health & Welfare.

On the political front, 2006 was a very successful year. Although we did not win every single election, we had many great successes. Locally, we elected a good friend of labor and our union, in the State Assembly with Tick Segerbloom. Susan Brager defeated Lynette Boggs McDonald in the County Commission, District F (which is where the Union Hall is located). Lynette Boggs McDonald was a very antiunion County Commissioner who was on the Board of Directors at Stations Casinos. We need help from the County Commission to change the law that requires bartenders to have two work cards and also to help on the parking situation at the Union Hall.

Terry & Lana present check to Suzanne Wakefield.

Unfortunately, Dina Titus was unsuccessful in her run for Governor, but she remains the Democratic Leader in the Nevada State Senate. She will be a powerful voice in fighting for working families. We were also very successful in most of the constitutional races in Nevada. You voted to raise the minimum wage in Nevada to $6.15 per hour and now hopefully a much larger race will take place on the national front.

On the national races, the successes were even greater. The Democrats now have a majority in both the Senate and
House of Representatives. Nevada’s Senior Senator and our friend, Harry Reid, is the Majority Leader in the Senate. We must continue in 2008 to win the Presidential Race with a President who cares about working people.

In summing it up, organizing Stations Casinos, who is the non-union competitor of our union hotels, is a must. Being non-union, they have a huge competitive advantage over our union hotels. It is important that we are organized among our membership. We need to find more Shop Stewards and Committee Leaders to be successful in whatever fights we will have in 2007 and beyond.

In closing, remember this is your union and this is your contract we are fighting for. Please be involved and please attend all rallies and union meetings whenever possible.

 

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