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November 10, 2013

Culinary Union May Try to Provoke Members to be Arrested

Filed under: Casino — Tags: — OCE News @ 2:45 am

It seems as though the troubles between the Culinary Union and the Cosmopolitan will continue for some time to come. It was recently announced that over 100 members of the union are now planning to have themselves arrested by Metro Police when they next protest on the Strip. This will be the second time that the union has done this in their protest with the Cosmopolitan over stalled contract talks.

The union is calling this an act of civil disobedience. As of right now, the protest is scheduled to occur on Nov 1 sometime between the hours of 5 and 7 p.m. What was not released by the union was just how the members who plan on being arrested will accomplish that goal.

If this happens, the new arrests will be the second time the union has taken this kind of action. The last time it happened was on March 20. At that incident, some 98 union protesters were arrested for sitting in the Strip and blocking traffic. At some point, Metro police officers stepped in and arrested the people, loading them into a police bus and taking them away from the scene where in excess of 2,000 Culinary union picketers continued to demonstrate. They were protesting for nearly 2,000 workers of the Cosmopolitan who have been showing up for work now for over two years but have not been able to get a new contract from the hotel.

According to union officials, the union is attempting to get a new contract with the Cosmopolitan that will include work weeks of 40 hours as well as conditions that will provide better job security. They are also seeking to get certain health care contributions. In addition, union members are also asking for new contracts that would include certain clauses that will promise that the new contract would remain in effect even if the hotel resort is sold to another entity. This particular clause is being asked for because the hotel resort which is owned by the Deutsche Bank is struggling financially and has been struggling for some years now. The Cosmopolitan opened in 2010.

As for the union, it is said to represent nearly 60,000 food servers, maids and bartenders. It has made no secret of its intention to get this new contract for these workers. In recent weeks, video has come out of some disturbing behavior by some of its members. Posted on the internet, the video that was taken shows a member of the union shouting at people who are entering the hotel, calling them names and causing some disturbances among other people who were on the property. When asked about this, union officials made no apologies, saying that they believe these types of tactics are fair game in a situation such as this. They say that their members are only taking advantage of their First Amendment rights and they see nothing wrong with their members being vocal on this issue. They vow to continue the protests until they get the new contract.

November 4, 2013

More Trouble as Culinary Union Continues to Picket Now With Verbal Attacks

Filed under: Casino — Tags: — OCE News @ 2:40 am

It may now seem as if trouble will not go away when it comes to the Culinary Union picket that is taking place outside the Cosmopolitan. It has now been reported that the Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs was able to get video at a recent Culinary protest that included verbal abuse by some picketers. This is said to have occurred Oct. 5 and took place outside the Strip resort. The video was posted on YouTube. The Alliance has since said that it believes these actions were unwarranted and has asked that union officials intervene to stop these types of actions.

According to one Alliance member, “Lawmakers should see that the union bosses at the Culinary Union are engaged in guerilla tactics that give our state a black eye. The irony of Big Labor’s approach is that it results in less tourism, fewer jobs, less tips and a weak local economy, which ultimately hurts the very workers they claim to represent.”

For its part, culinary union officials have said that they see nothing wrong with the way their members are behaving or with the tactics that they are using. According to a union spokesperson, “The recent civil disobediences, rallies and pickets are exercises of workers’ First Amendment rights and part of the struggle for the Las Vegas Dream. Cosmopolitan workers are fighting for the opportunity to provide for their families, something all Vegas workers deserve.”

In the video that was taken and posted, a member of the union who is unidentified is shouting at into a megaphone. A APNJ member is also seen standing next to this person handing out cards. The video runs for about a minute and is entitled “Union Bosses From The Culinary 226 Harass Tourists”.

The APNJ is a project part of the Workforce Fairness Institute. Just last week they said they would launch what they call a counter-demonstration and that these would take place during Culinary protests that are being performed outside the Cosmopolitan. But, rather than picketing, the APNJ has said that it will distribute Thank You cards.

In the video, as the member of the APNJ hands out cards, the Culinary member yells out: “You guys are a bunch of losers.” This is aimed at some people who are entering the Cosmopolitan’s front doors. A little later in the video, the same man yells out at a verbal attack toward a couple. In the video he says, “You and your wife are a bunch of losers. Support the workers, guys. Don’t go inside of the Cosmopolitan.”

The Culinary Union represents an estimated 50,000 maids, bartenders, and food servers. The Union has said that it will remain on the picket line at the Cosmopolitan. The dispute stems from 2,000 workers who have been working for two years without a labor agreement. When those employees get a new contract, the protests will stop, according to the union.

Officials at the Cosmopolitan have not commented about the posted video and have been relatively silent throughout the protests.

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