Labor board upholds one complaint against Station Casinos, dismisses six

The National Labor Relations Board has upheld an administrative law judge's dismissal of six out of seven unfair labor practices allegations against Station Casinos LLC, including a complaint made by the board itself last year.

The complaint was issued in October, a Station Casinos executive said Friday. Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which has tried without success for 15 years to organize 13,000 Station employees, filed the charges.

Of the seven allegations heard by the NLRB, six allegations of threatening an employee for engaging in union activities were dismissed after the judge determined no supervisor was present during the alleged incident or that testimony by a union witness lacked credibility.

"We are very pleased that all but one of the allegations presented to the NLRB were found without merit," Valerie Murzl, senior vice president of human resources, said in a statement.

The NLRB issued its ruling late Thursday in Washington, D.C. The only allegation the NLRB let stand involved a Palace Station supervisor warning a employee to be quiet during a meeting, saying that if he didn't comply, he would be the next to be discharged.

The NLRB settled the case by ordering Station Casinos to post a "Notice to Employees" assuring workers the company will not interfere with their right to engage in union activity. The order covered only Palace Station .

"This is a victory for all workers in Las Vegas and across the country," Culinary Union President Geoconda Arguello-Kline, said in a statement. "It shows no matter how rich and powerful a company may think it is, the law protects workers against abuse."

Station Casinos still faces a hearing by the full three-member NLRB board concerning a second complaint, which includes 87 charges of unfair labor practices filed by Culinary Local 226. An administrative law judge in September ordered the hearing. Many complaints deal with comments by supervisors that were perceived to be anti-union.

"Just as the NLRB upheld the administrative law judge in this case, it is highly likely that the NLRB will uphold these other 87 violations," Arguello-Kline said.

The union originally filed 201 charges against the company, but most were dismissed after a seven-month trial that ended in May 2011.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at
csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.