Culinary ‘victory’

Last week, the Obama administration's pro-union National Labor Relations Board largely turned aside Culinary complaints, upholding an administrative law judge's dismissal of six out of seven allegations of unfair practices against nonunion Station Casinos.

Each of the dismissed charges alleged supervisors at the gaming company had threatened an employee for engaging in union activity, but the judge had determined no supervisors were present or that union witnesses lacked credibility.

The single allegation that stuck involved a Palace Station supervisor warning an employee to quiet down during a meeting or face discharge, a case that was settled when the casino posted a notice to employees that the company will not disrupt their right to engage in union activity.

The union declared its 1-for-7 performance a win. "This is a victory for all workers in Las Vegas and across the country," Culinary President Geocondra Arguello-Kline said.

A supervisor telling a worker to be quiet? The horror!

The Culinary's throw-mud-at-the-wall-and-hope-it-sticks strategy likely will play out later this year when an administrative law judge hears an additional 87 charges of unfair labor practices against Station Casinos, mostly relating to comments from supervisors that employees claimed were anti-union. However, 114 other allegations were dismissed last year. Judging from the Culinary's batting average, it will be lucky to have a few allegations hold up.

And what will that accomplish? Not much. After 15 years of failing to organize Station's 13,000 employees, the union merely aims to make headlines, drive up Station's legal bills and force the business to play defense.

The Culinary Local 226 is perfectly free to call an election and settle the matter. But the union won't, obviously fearing a secret ballot defeat. And the NLRB, which has shown a willingness to overreach on behalf of organized labor, whether it's blocking a Boeing expansion into a right-to-work state or proposing regulations to boost unions' chances of winning elections, didn't think much of the Culinary's conspiracies.

No one is buying the Culinary's narrative. If it's this desperate for attention, perhaps the union should focus its energy on workers it actually represents.