Bartenders Union Newswire small header Vol. 4, Number 1, 2009 • Page 3
Passing the Employees Free Choice Act is another program that seems to be in major trouble. Corporations are fighting this due to the fact that should it pass correctly, we would not have to negotiate card check neutrality with the companies. It would automatically allow card check and once the majority of signatures are obtained, contracts would then be negotiated. If the company and the union were not able to reach an agreement with a contract, arbitration would follow with an arbitrator deciding the contract. From my understanding, this is how the original legislation was written, but there now seems to be major roadblocks.
What seems to be very bright in the near future is the opening of City Center. Hopefully, this will put many of our members in Local 165 and 226 back to work. We have card check neutrality in City Center with the MGM Mirage owned venues. With the Mandarin Oriental and the Harmon Property, we will have card check neutrality in 2013. Please note that it is extremely important for anyone going to work at City Center that you sign a union card. The only way City Center will become a union property is by having a majority of the workers sign union cards. I have been asked questions by many of you
about the contract for City Center, but we cannot negotiate a contract until a majority of the workers sign the union cards. If you are going to City Center, or know people who are, please make sure that we get union cards signed so City Center can open as a union property. PLEASE NOTIFY THE UNION HALL IF YOU ARE HIRED AT CITY CENTER.
The Sheriff Card issue is still an ongoing fight. Pilar Weiss, the Political Director from the Culinary Union and who does major political work with our International Union, is leading the fight to try and get rid of the County’s Sheriff’s Card for bartenders and apprentices. We are negotiating a deal with the County that bartenders and apprentices who have a gaming card on file will not need a County Sheriff’s Card. Attorney Richard McCracken has written the proposed language to change the ordinance and we hope to get this passed within the very near future. This has been a long, hard fight and we want to thank Pilar for all her hard work.
Joe Cano will have a report on organizing new properties, but I must tell you that we constantly hear from our“union” employers in contract negotiations that the “non-union” properties have a competitive advantage over them because they pay less in wages with little or no benefits. So please do not frequent

those properties, as we have been told that some of their best customers are our members.
In September at the AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburg, UniteHere rejoined the AFL-CIO where our International Union President John Wilhelm was appointed to a seat on the Council. We were hoping in the past to accomplish great things with the Change-To-Win Coalition, but unfortunately they became an SEIU-dominated organization and therefore, it made no sense for UniteHere to continue a relationship with them.
As we approach the end of the year, we hope to see the economy improve and a much brighter future in 2010, especially with the opening of City Center. We look forward to other projects that stopped construction to continue once again so that 2010 will be a better year and bring about a great holiday season for all our members. §

**Breaking News**
We want to congratulate and welcome home Tim Luebbert, the officers, staff, and membership of Local 74 in St. Louis, Missouri back into UniteHere. Local 74 is a hotel, gaming, food service, and restaurant local and they are certainly a part of the UniteHere family.

Wolfgang Puck Settlement

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