Back to table for Tropicana

The Tropicana, the largest Strip property without a new Culinary union contract, will go back to the negotiating table Friday for the first time in three months.

Mark Ricciardi, the local labor lawyer for the Strip property, said his client believes there should be no "sacred cows" in the Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 contracts.

The parties have not met since Aug. 29 when the Tropicana put forth broad plans to replace many components of the union's traditional contract.

The Tropicana is the largest property still operating on extended contracts since the former union contracts expired in May.

"That's why it's called negotiations, so we can sit down and talk about changes," said Ricciardi, a founding partner at the law firm Fisher & Phillips. "Just because things have been done the same way for years doesn't mean you can't look at it."

The property plans to challenge old ideas about the union's health plan, a guaranteed workweek and the Culinary's pension plan.

"Maybe there's a better way, and that's what we're going to put on the table to discuss," he said.

Culinary Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor said the property's new owner, Columbia Sussex Corp., hasn't proposed anything except a broad plan that includes few specifics about how it would replace the union's health and pension plans.

He said he doesn't know whether the union will get any specifics ahead of the meeting.

"We're going to ask them for what they said they were going to give us," Taylor said. "Then we'll have a lot of questions on their proposal and they will, obviously, make some additional proposals."

Ricciardi said a primary goal for the company is to loosen the guaranteed workweek rules included in the old union contracts.

Most workers are guaranteed 40 hours per week and the contract gives the company little flexibility to trim hours or to use many part-time workers.

"Right now, with the rate we're adding rooms to this town, the experienced employment base is not keeping up," he said. "What that means is we are, as an industry, going to have to become much more creative with how we are going to fill slots with good people."

Ricciardi said something as simple as staffing a restaurant during lunch hour might become restrictive if the hotel has to have employees work full shifts.

Ricciardi argues that the number of industry layoffs that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks might have been reduced if union operators had had the option to cut hours instead of laying off workers.

Between 12,000 and 15,000 casino workers were laid off, but thousands more were able to keep their jobs with reduced hours.

"That caused a huge bloodbath on the Strip after 9/11," he said. "If you look at nonunion properties, they had the flexibility to keep people at work."

Ricciardi said he could not discuss other aspects of the Tropicana's proposal, such as the health and retirement plans, because they have not been presented to the unions.

This is the first contract negotiation between the unions and the Tropicana's new Fort Mitchell, Ky.-based owners. Columbia Sussex acquired the property in January as part of the $2.1 billion buyout of Aztar Corp.

Columbia Sussex has come under criticism for laying off hundreds of workers at its properties across the country since the acquisition.

Although exact numbers are hard to obtain for the Strip property, the Culinary contends the Tropicana's work force has shrunk from nearly 1,000 to about 750.

The property has close to 1,600 union and nonunion workers, general manager John Sevilla said.

The company also owns the nonunion Westin on Flamingo Road.

"We're going to sit down and try to negotiate a contract," Taylor said. "Obviously, we have a track record that has been successful in this town with a whole variety of companies."

The unions have been focusing on other properties around the valley since its last meeting with the Tropicana. The Culinary even came close to its first strike in five years.

Mission Industries agreed to a new contract with the Culinary on Nov. 12, a few hours before nearly 1,560 laundry workers were scheduled to walk off the job. The major sticking point was the economics of the Culinary health plan, which has no out-of-pocket expenses for workers.

Contracts for 4,400 downtown workers were reached in October after Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165 set a deadline to end the contract extensions the union had been working under for months.

Negotiations also continue with Binion's, Golden Gate and Jerry's Nugget.

Although the union has not publicly discussed setting a deadline with the Tropicana, terminating the contract extensions could lead to possible actions by the unions, including a strike, pickets, boycotts or nothing.

Ricciardi said Columbia Sussex wants to negotiate honestly with the negotiating committee to reach a resolution that is in all parties' best interests.

He said a strike would hurt not only the employees and the company, but also Las Vegas' image.

"None of these things are something my client is wishing for or wanting." Ricciardi said.

Contact reporter Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3893.