'Vegas union may unionize Fire Rock staff

Efforts are underway to unionize workers at the Fire Rock Navajo Casino.

Benson Bitsui, an organizer for Culinary Workers Union Local 226 out of Las Vegas, Nev., said Tuesday that his union has been talking to Fire Rock workers for more than a year. He also claims that casino management officials "have been giving a lot of misleading information to employees."

Bob Winter, CEO of the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise, said that statement is incorrect. The casino has hired legal counsel familiar with tribal and federal labors laws and has been following what they have advised to the letter, Winter said.

Bitsui said the union is gathering signatures from employees who want to vote on joining CWU, part of a consortium of unions organized under the name UNITE HERE. CWU Local 226 is UNITE HERE's largest member with about 60,000 members nationally, according to its Web site.

A vote will be required by law if 55 percent of Fire Rock employees sign the petition requesting it. The union has not released any numbers so far of how many workers have signed.

Lawrence Oliver, who formerly headed the United Mine Workers of America local at the McKinley Mine, is working with the union organizers at Fire Rock. Oliver served as director of the Navajo Nation's Division of Human Services under President Joe Shirley Jr. until December 2009, when he stepped down.

On Aug. 9, Oliver submitted a report to the Navajo Nation Council's Human Services Committee alleging that casino management is trying to discourage employees from joining the union - a violation of Navajo law, if true.

"Beginning within the last month and a half, Don Buzney (the casino's Human Resources director) has held several employee 'captive audience' meetings," Oliver stated in his report. "These meetings are held to portray the union negatively and discourage the employees in their organizing efforts in violation of the Navajo Preference in Employment Act."

Oliver said some employees who feel they have been intimidated want to voice their concerns directly to the Human Services Committee. They are asking for a chance to appear before the committee at a later date, he said.

Anti-union efforts

Winter acknowledged that casino management has held meetings with workers, but only to explain the process when a union wants to organize.

The casino management has made no attempt to discourage workers from joining the union or to intimidate anyone, he said.

"The union has asked us to provide space in the casino to hold meetings and to be allowed to talk to employees at their workplace," Winter said.

This request was denied but the organizers were told they could meet with employees during their breaks or off-hours, he said. The off-hours meetings would have to occur off the casino premises.

The union organizers also allege:

• Workers have been interrogated by supervisors concerning their opinions on unions.
• Workers are told by supervisors not to talk to union representatives.
• Employees are called in by their supervisors during working hours and asked if they associate with union reps outside of work.
• Supervisors and managers have used indirect tactics to threaten, discipline and retaliate against some employees. The tactics include transferring someone, without warning, to a different shift.

Winter said none of these accusations are true, except that union officials have been told not to talk to workers during their work hours. No effort has been made to monitor or control who employees associate with outside of work, he said.

He said the union asked the casino to release employee phone numbers, which management refused to do. Winter also said a number of employees approached management trying to make sure that their private numbers were not released to the union.

Under federal law, the casino has to turn over a complete list of employees on request of union organizers, and has done so, he added.

Oliver also told the Human Services Committee that union officials have received complaints that the gaming enterprise does not take responsibility for injuries that occur at work.

That's not true, Winter said. Any employee who is injured onsite is eligible for worker's compensation and this process is followed in every case.

There were also two accusations that workers have had their hours cut drastically. According to Oliver:

• The casino's 12 to 15 part-time workers, sometimes called "floaters," were working 32 hours or more a week and now are down to 18 hours. In addition to the loss of income, this would disqualify them from some benefits, such as health and unemployment insurance.
• Full-time employees have been informed that their hours will be cut, with workweeks being reduced to 18 or 32 hours per week for some individuals.

"That's not true," Winter said. "We have no part-time help."

He said the process to hire and train a casino employee is lengthy and arduous, requiring a lot of paperwork and background checks. This would be too much trouble for someone who was just going to be used part-time, he said.

Beware the promises

He said one thing management has told employees is not to listen to union promises to intercede for them during the job application process, or if they get in trouble with the tribe's gaming regulatory commission.

Winter said the union doesn't have the power or the authority to get involved with certifying applicants as fit for employment, which is handled solely by the regulatory commission.

Union advocates also question the casino's disciplinary process, saying that it is unfair.

"Disciplinary occurrences have been issued for the slightest deviation from policy," the report to HSC said.

Under the casino rules, a worker can be suspended or fired after 10 occurrences, but also can reduce the number by agreeing to work on their days off. This provision has led to exploitation in some cases, the union claims.

"One worker had worked the full month of April and May (with no days off) to reduce accumulated occurrences (that occurred) due to a severe family illness," the union report said.

Winter said employees get penalty points if they violate a rule or policy and after a certain number of points, a worker may face suspension or termination.

However, he said the enterprise makes every effort to work with the employee so he or she is not terminated.

"We understand that, in many cases, this may be the first job a person may have," Winter said.

The casino has a vested interest in retaining existing workers because hiring replacements is such a difficult and lengthy process, he noted.

The final decision to fire someone is made by a committee of employees.

"The fate of the employees is in the hand of their fellow employees and not management," Winter said.

Non-Indian casinos are unionized, as are some that are owned by tribes.

The Navajo Preference in Employment Act specifically recognizes the right of Navajo workers to organize and engage in collective bargaining, and says these rights "shall not be abridged in any way by any person."

Bitsui said the Culinary Workers Union is concentrating on Fire Rock because none of the other Indian casinos are owned by tribes that guarantee these rights.

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