Union plans contract talk with Trump Las Vegas during Donald Trump rally
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump may find a few unwanted observers Monday when he holds a campaign rally at South Point.
Culinary Local 226 officials said Sunday that workers from Trump International plan to set up "negotiating tables" in a meeting room at the south Strip hotel-casino where they hope to engage the billionaire developer and operators of the nongaming property in contract negotiations. Trump's rally, a day ahead of Nevada's GOP Caucus, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m.
In December, a majority of the 500-person Trump International workforce eligible in the union's bargaining units voted to unionize with the Culinary and its affiliate, Bartenders Local 165.
The National Labor Relations Board certified the vote. The hotel's operators appealed the ruling, but the union leaders said Sunday an NLRB hearing officer rejected the request, following a three-week hearing, saying there was no objectionable conduct by the workers or the union.
"I recommend that the employer's objections be overruled in their entirety," Hearing Officer Lisa Dunn wrote in her Feb. 18 report.
Trump International can still appeal that ruling to the NLRB's regional director.
The union now wants negotiations, however, to begin Monday, just as Trump, fresh of his victory in the South Carolina primary, meets with his Nevada supporters.
The Culinary has held several events in front of the hotel off the Strip along Fashion Show Drive.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley, a former governor of Maryland, participated with the union in an August press conference. In October, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton rallied with workers the day before a nationally televised debate at the Wynn Las Vegas.
The Culinary plans another protest in front of the hotel on Tuesday, the day of the GOP Caucus.
Union leaders have said they want the same deal the Trump Organization made with workers at the company's hotel in Toronto. A union contract was ratified by the employees with that property a week before Trump International workers voted to unionize.
"If Donald Trump wants to 'Make America Great Again,' he should start right here in Las Vegas by negotiating with us the same deal his company made with his Canadian workers," Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Arguello-Kline said in a statement.
A Trump campaign spokesman declined to comment Sunday.
In August, Eric Trump, Trump's son and executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization, said the hotel has more than 650 valued employees who time after time have rejected union organization.
Trump's company owns the 64-story hotel and condominium tower, which opened in 2008. Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin is a partner in the property.
— Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Find @howardstutz on Twitter.
HOW TO CAUCUS
Nevada's GOP presidential caucus is Tuesday.
Same-day voter registration is not available. The deadline to register as a Republican and be eligible to participate was Feb. 13.
Caucuses will begin between 5 and 7 p.m., depending on the county and location, and end by 9 p.m. Voters must show a government-issued photo ID to participate. Republicans do not need to stay for the duration of their precinct meetings. Voters can submit a paper ballot and leave.
Voters can look up their caucus location and start time at: http://www.nevadagopcaucus.org.
