EDITORIAL: UFC should knock out phony Culinary organizing bid

The Culinary Local 226, which has worked maliciously for years to hurt the financial interests of UFC fighters, wants those fighters to believe they'll be better off allowing the union that has sucker-punched them to bargain on their behalf.

The union's latest play in its desperate, despicable feud with Station Casinos comes with a heavy dose of hypocrisy. The Culinary, along with Teamsters Local 986, announced this month that they intend to organize the fighters of the Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world's most successful mixed martial arts organization, over concerns about how the fighters are being treated. As if anyone could treat them worse than the Culinary has.

UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta also control Station Casinos, which the Culinary has failed to unionize because of hostility, harassment and bad-faith tactics. Hoping to make the Fertittas submit to a card-check election, the Culinary began attacking the UFC as well. Its most damaging blow has been a political blockade in New York that has prevented UFC licensure — and denied UFC fighters access to the lucrative New York City market. The Culinary created a website disparaging all UFC fighters, unfitforchildren.org, and petitioned Toys R Us to remove UFC products from its shelves, among other boorish moves.

UFC events on the Strip put big money into Culinary members' pockets, which turn into Culinary dues used to harm the UFC. But now UFC fighters are supposed to believe that the Culinary is looking out for them?

All this nonsense would stop if the Culinary would agree to secret-ballot elections at Station Casinos properties. That the Culinary won't says everything about its chances of prevailing.

The Culinary doesn't give a rip about UFC fighters. And its destructive approach to unionizing hurts all of Las Vegas. It's past time for the Culinary to tap out.