NOVEMBER 2007
(Post #287) From a Full Time 11-30-07:
I received my second letter from Jimmy Wike today and I feel
compelled to respond:
1. Is Caesars Palace afraid of the Union? If you have
good relationships with many unions why are we to be treated differently and
made to feel like traitors for wanting representation. We are not the Frontier
and there are many highly educated dealers at Caesars to help negotiate our
contract!
2. Why is Caesars Palace now focusing its attention on
dealers? We know the facts: we are not uneducated as you seem to think We
are protecting our tokes as stated and tell the job security tale to all the
folks you have fired! NOT TO MENTION THE OTHER CASINOS ARE BREATHING DOWN YOUR
NECKS BECAUSE THEY KNOW ALL THE HOTELS WILL FOLLOW!
3. Can I be neutral in the election? Yes! You do not
have to vote but the election is decided by the majority that actually votes.
4.Do I have to vote for the TWU if I signed a union
authorization card? No, that is true but I don't know why anyone would
change their minds because you have a high priced lawyer writing threatening
letters to us. It should only compel more to vote YES!
5.If the TWU wins the election, does that automatically
protect my tokes? YES! You lied again. All things stay "STATUS
QUO" until we negotiate a contract even if it takes 5 years! Why would we
negotiate for less!! Remember after the contract is negotiated all dealers get
to vote to ratify (accept) the contract.
6. If the TWU loses the election, what actions can we
expect from Caesars Palace against dealers? NONE- are you kidding!! The day
shift ACM S..... D....... already tries to punish the IHO's knowing it is against
the NLRB laws. The is the most vindictive management team that I have ever
worked for-not to mention the most incompetent!
7. What will Caesars Palace give me to vote against the
union? Nothing is right because it is against the law, and when is the last
time they ever gave us anything?
8. What do dealers put at risk? As I have said before,
everything stays "STATUS QUO" during negotiations and why would we
negotiate for anything less. We would like to add seniority and a standard discipline
outline in writing!
9. What would happen if, in negotiations, the TWU wanted
more money or benefits than the Company is willing to give? You try to put
the fear of strike into hard working loyal employees. First, as I have said, we
are not uneducated so we would not be going out on strike and the dealers
themselves would have to vote to walk, however, during our negotiations the
entire state of Nevada dealers will be joining the union and together we will
have a voice that you will have to bargain in good faith with or the NLRB will
step-in. So this answers three of your questions that you wanted to reiterate
just to put fear in your staff!
The TWU has negotiated some of the highest paid contracts in
the US, for example, some bus drivers in New York make $100,000 annually with a
pension of $70,000 when they retire. It sounds like they really need us! The
fact is the corporations has kept all other unions from representing us by
giving other unions stronger contracts to leave us alone. Some were even paid
off! But you on the other hand, would rather hire the highest paid "union
busting attorneys in the US" than to have 600 dealers be represented by the
union. Why?
We all know why! You are greedy! You are a self-insured
company and even make money on us that way. You have reduced the matches on
401k's, you try to get us to fund pre-paid prescription accounts, legal accounts
and etc. so you can make the interest on those too.
And to think I am only a dealer and I can see right thru
you!!!
VOTE UNION AND STOP THE BLEEDING! KNOW THERE WILL BE MORE OF
THEIR BULLSHIT TO COME!
RESPONSE:
Very good! Although the Reader failed to directly address
several of the questions asked by CP, but we will answer them very soon.
Now, does this Dealer seem like they need
"educated"? We don't think so, and THAT is what scares CP!
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #286) From the Organizing
Committee 11-30-07:
Just a FYI, we recently had a Reader suggest that we ask for our
own "case" to post our flyers in at work, because that is what they
did at The Wynn. So, we checked into it.
Well, Caesars Palace likes to tell us that the TWU has gotten
nothing accomplished at The Wynn...WRONG. This is just one of many things they
have gotten done so far, they got The Wynn to agree AFTER the Union was voted
in, to allow the Union to have a locked glass case for their flyers.
As for CP allowing us the same thing, forget about it. There is
no way until we all vote the Union in can we even think of such things, little
as they may seem. Does the Dealer's Committee have such a small luxury even?
Nope. Think about it.
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #285) From a Dealer 11-30-07:
Mr. Wike has sent us another letter (thanks for respecting our privacy).
That isn't really a fair statement though. Mr. Wike's hired union busters
have sent us another letter.
I would like to thank you for taking the time and expense to let us
know how the union would be so bad for us.
In the letter you mention that the TWU sees us as a source of revenue
IE. Union Dues. Well firstly, this is a Right to Work State, which simply
means not only do you not have to join a union, you can NEVER be compelled
to pay union dues. I'm sure your union-busting toadies must have over-looked
that. Secondly, It seems to me you view us the same way. Strange how our
insurance premiums go up without fail every year, but the Union Employees
pay little or nothing. Maybe you could use our sky-high premiums to help
defray the cost of Unionized workers health care. Failing that, you could
use some of that money you no longer give to us in our 401k match.
Here is another sparkling idea for you. Use our tokes to help pay the
floor people what you should be paying them anyway. "Outrageous,
Unthinkable" you say? Can't be that 'unthinkable', your
counterpart down the street not only thought about it. He did it. I'm
not naive enough to think you wouldn't do that to us in an instant. If I'm
wrong, why can't you simply give us a written contract that states you won't
ever take our tokes? Is that so hard? You won't do it. Not now, not
ever. Why?
You view us as your JACKPOT.
You've left us no choice. We have to unionize to have a voice in our
future. Dealers Local 721 will be that voice. While the TWU is the
organizing entity, the 721 is the negotiating voice. Nothing that is
negotiated upon will be arbitrarily agreed upon without our voice. They like
to bring up the lousy contract the TWU negotiated with the Frontier. Damn
right it was lousy. You know whose fault that is? The Frontier
dealers. No contract will be ratified without our say. That being
said, no one is going to 'gamble' with our tokes or 401k because no dealer
in their right mind would let them.
Do your families a favor and vote yes for your Union. Its the only
sensible course of action we have left.
RESPONSE:
Thanks for the Feedback! We would like to add to this one, but will save
our comments for when we comment on the entire letter ourselves.
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #284) From the Organizing
Committee 11-30-07:
We just want to update everyone on the new pages we have added
to the website: "401(k)";
"Successorship";
"Predictions";
"Educate";
"Wike Letter";
"Incident Reports"
and "Real Issues".
All buttons for these pages can be found on the left side of either the Home
Page or Readers Write page. As we add new pages we will list the new pages in
a streaming banner on one of these two pages.
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #283) From a Full Time Dealer
11-30-07:
Hello My Fellow Dealers,
I want to explain that when we vote the union in on Dec. 22,
that everything we have stays "STATUS QUO" so technically, we already
have a contract while we are negotiating. Even if Steve Wynn wins in the Nevada
Supreme Court, our tokes CANNOT be taken for any reason!!! They CANNOT take our
401k unless we negotiate it away and why would we do that. Please don't let this
rhetoric from management dissuade you from the path that we are on.
And in the flyer they make a reference to "are you tired
of the hate talk" WHO IS THREATENING WHO>???? We are truly trying to
give you the facts that management does not want you to have. We have 3 weeks
left so STAY STRONG--STAY FOCUSED AND DON'T BELIEVE ANY OF THE BS THAT THEY ARE
FORCE FEEDING IN THESE MEETINGS! LET THE FORCE BE WITH US!
There are several casinos small and large that are already
sending in Authorization Cards and they are looking to Caesars to be the 'FLAG
SHIP"--STAY THE COURSE--VOTE YES ON THE 22ND.
RESPONSE:
The Reader is EXACTLY RIGHT when they say everything stays
"status quo". We are going to dedicate a page just to this subject
very soon. Stay Tuned!
We agree, it is Caesars Palace threatening us, not any of us
threatening them. Unless of course they see the Union as a "threat"
and CP will lose the 100% control they have over us.
We would also like to make mention of something said in the
"pink flyer", they said "Promises mean nothing", and that
is exactly right! The Union has promised us nothing but what the Federal
Government is guaranteeing us if we organize (NLRA). On the other hand,
Caesars Palace has PROMISED not to take our tokes as at The Wynn. PROMISES
MEAN NOTHING!
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #282) From Flamingo Dealers
11-29-07:
WE NEED YOUR HELP....
WE ARE NOT AS PROMINENT AS CAESARS; HOWEVER, WE HAVE FAMILIES AND LIVES TO LIVE.
WE SUPPORT YOU - VOTE YES!!!
FLAMINGO DEALERS - DAY, SWING, AND GRAVE
RESPONSE:
Thanks for your support! Listen , you do not have to be Caesars
Palace to organize. We want EVERY casino Dealer in the Country to be organized.
We are all brothers and sisters in this business.
We would love to help you, but you did not include any
"contact info" on your Feedback, so have no way of contacting you. If
you would like to submit another feedback with the info, that would be great and
we can help you get it all started. You can also contact the TWU Reps by calling
them at the Local 721 office at (702) 476-0648.
We hope to have you "onboard" with the many other
casinos joining in very soon.
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #281) From a Caesar's AC Dealer
11-29-07:
Hi to all Caesars palace dealer. Stay strong and build
stronger comities and that is only way you can win good election. Don’t buy
Loveman story, he told us at Caesars AC that Las Vegas employee loves his new
health care plan (cigna) then how came Caesars AC dealer don’t like it (do you
really like Loveman's health care plane?) if Caesars AC dealer don’t like this
health care then he will fix everything, he lied. Gary Loveman will try
everything to bust union. Comities should constantly talking and give update to
all dealer. GOOD LUCK
Caesars dealer
Atlantic city NJ
RESPONSE:
Thank you very much for you Feedback! Hopefully as we approach
our election date we can have more Dealers from AC write to us about how they
will try to defeat us with their lies and manipulations. The Dealers across the
country need to hear about these "FACTS".
And our answer is a resounding "NO", we do NOT like
the health plan we currently have which is owned by Harrah's and administered
by Cigna. It is the worse health insurance we have had since the beginning of
Caesars Palace over 40 years ago.
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #280) From a 21 Dealer 11-29-07:
I heard a supervisor told a PCD girl that she would be fired
if she voted for the union. Can they do that?
RESPONSE:
Not only can they not fire anyone who votes for the Union just
because they voted for the Union, but it is also against >>>
Federal
Law <<< for them to even
say such a thing to ANY Dealer!
Please, if anyone hears such things or has had ANY supervisor
say anything remotely like this, REPORT IT ASAP to either us or the Union
immediately. Lies and threats such as this are considered "Unfair Labor
Practices" (ULP's) and the National Labor Relations Board will be
notified by the Union of such illegal activities.
Make note of the date, time, who said it, where and any
witnesses and report it. All IHO's will be able to assist you in reporting it
as well.
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #279) From a Laughlin 21 Dealer
11-28-07:
I am a dealer in Laughlin and have dealt for years in Vegas.
I say "BRAVO" for the union. It's about time that the dealers finally
unite. I have wanted protection for years, but people are afraid to lose their
jobs. So am I, but I'm more afraid of what the corporations are doing to us. I
talked to a union rep and I'm going to do my best to get something going down
here.
RESPONSE:
Thanks for your Feedback and support! Need any help, let us
know.
Funny thing is, as the Reader writes, " I have wanted
protection for years, but people are afraid to lose their jobs."
That's one of the main points of a Union, to help protect your job. People are
afraid of losing their jobs while they are having to fight to protect them.
Kind of doesn't make sense to us.
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #278) From a 21 Dayshift Dealer
11-28-07:
Mr. Wike,
Your letter in itself is a contradiction. You said Caesar's Palace will respect
our privacy away from work concerning the union and the election, yet we are
receiving mail from you addressed to our homes, doing the very thing you said
you wouldn't do, but that the union would. You couldn't have had a mandatory or
voluntary meeting set-up at work, instead of mailing your letter to our homes ?
Obviously you don't care about our privacy either. You said in the next few
weeks the union would be bothering us at our homes. It seems like you beat them
to the punch, since you invaded our privacy at home before the union did.
I can't see why the TWU organizers would "bother to spread rumors, create
fear, stop us from going home, come to our house, phone us, and interfere in our
personal and family lives", concerning the over 400 dealers who already
sent in TWU cards. Doesn't that sound like a waste of time?. Your letter must be
meant for the minority of the people who are on the fence or against the union,
and quite frankly, those tactics, even as read them, reminded me more of how you
and your ACM's have been running Caesar's and ruling over us. I also think that
you don't give the people who are on the fence, and who are against the union
enough credit. I think they, like us, know that it's an educated decision that
only each individual can make, and I also think they are old enough to say NO,
or Leave Us Alone, "IF" they are, and, don't want to be bothered by
someone from the union. Thanks for telling them they could say those things
though, since you must think they couldn't have figured that out for themselves.
Even at home, just like at work, we're treated like we're not smart enough to do
anything without being told what to do. If you hadn't sent that letter, telling
them what to say, imagine the dilemma they would be in, if the situation arose
that you described.
You write, "Our goal is to give you the "FACTS". Well, FACTS will
be the first thing you've given us, aside from : points, write-ups, suspensions,
evaluations our floor people aren't allowed to do, warnings, firings, being
chewed out in the pit, or the office. Actually, looking this letter over, I'm
trying to find some facts. One fact. A fact. Something we don't know? Can you
tell me where it is ?
You write, "We will not make any PROMISES or THREATS". I've been
Threatened about my job at Caesar's. I've been told that I could lose my job at
Caesar's, on more than one occasion. Over stupid things I've seen the select
favorite few do 1000 times worse, and you, and your upper management team, turn
their heads where they're concerned. I would give more details, but if I did,
they PROMISED me I would get fired, so I sit here quietly to this day, because I
don't want to get fired. That's a FACT. Which, I guess means your THREATS,
PROMISES, and FACTS, are all intertwined.
Then there's your evaluation system, that's a laugh. I understand that we ALL
can't be outstanding. I know we ALL aren't outstanding, but how is it, that when
Harrah's came in, almost everyone became average, except the favorite few ?
Seriously, how did the vast majority of us become average? I bet if we checked
the people who got outstanding evaluations in the gaming department, their
evaluations weren't turned back at least 3 times until they were made average,
and that MOST of the employees that got outstanding evaluations which entitles
them to a bonus, are not long term employees of Caesar's. Are most of them under
15 years ? 10 years ? 5 years ? I'm not saying all, but I am saying most. Call
it a hunch.
You and your ACM's have not deemed it necessary to give the majority of your
dealers the time of day, or even the simplest gestures of professional courtesy
such as an acknowledgement that we exist by just walking by someone's game and
giving them a smile, or a simple good morning, afternoon, or evening. We're not
even worth a nod of the head in our direction. It's also something related to
and called respect. There are two ACM's that have not spoken to me once this
year. Well, one did, but that was to chew me out on a game, and when they
realized they were wrong, did I get an apology? NO. She just turned around and
walked out of the pit. There is a third ACM who hasn't spoken to me in 6 months.
He talks to people playing at my table, or stands at or by my table many, many
times, and when I look up at him, he looks down at me and usually lets out a
disgusted sigh, sometimes he rolls his eyes, and then walks away, and sometimes,
after he walks away from me, with my moral lowered just a tad bit more because
of how he treated me, he starts joking with the pit clerk, or another dealer
close by about a movie or concert he went to.
Now, because of the mandatory and voluntary meetings, and your recent letter,
all of a sudden, we're suppose to respect you and your ACM's ? Because you are
giving things back, that should never had been taken away in the first place, we
should now listen to what you have to say, and Believe in you ? Stand behind you
like your favorite few ? When up until now, you and your ACM's have let us know
very clearly how things are, and that you had your own way of doing things, and
that there was no other way, Period. I don't think so.
I work very hard, like everyone else. I've been at Caesar's a long time, and I'm
proud to say that I'm a Caesar's Palace Dealer. It saddens me though to see what
Harrah's, Harrah's henchmen, Jimmy Wike, and what all the ACM's are trying to
do. They've done nothing but take from us, and expect more from us in return,
they've brought moral to an all time low, lost us a lot of our big players, and
chased away a lot of players that have been loyal customers of Caesar's for many
years. Upper Management works us through fear and intimidation, you read about
their huge profits, and they brag and take credit for it, and then on top of it,
get large bonuses, thanks to our hard work.
To the Dealers of Caesar's Palace, and ALL DEALERS at every hotel and casino
everywhere, WE are the CORE and BACKBONE of the gaming industry. We need
protection. We need to UNITE, and we need to VOTE YES.
RESPONSE:
Well, that says it all. We will have our response to the
letter with a dedicated button just for him very soon.
CAESARS PALACE'S
"PROMISES MEAN NOTHING"!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #277) From the Organizing
Committee 11-27-07:
You may all have noticed some changes to the website. Do not be alarmed, it
is NOT your computers acting up. We are trimming down the website as we
approach the day the Dealers of Caesars Palace vote "YES" for Union
representation. Everyone has had plenty of time to read the issues we had
posted here, and now it is time to zero in on our main issues and what it will
mean for all of us to become a Union of Dealers.
We continually hear the same question, "What can a Union do for
you" being posed by management. They tell us they want us to make an
educated decision. They will force us into "mandatory meetings" to
force their one-sided education onto us. As a famous Caesars Palace Dealer has
stated, "There are two sides", and we are going to show you the
Union side.
We have worked for as long as Caesars Palace has been opened without any
real representation, taking what they give us (or rather, take away from us),
while our co-workers in other departments are continually making gains to keep
up with the times.
As we implement the changes to the website, we will have only TWO main
pages with links from these pages, the "Readers Write" section and
the "Home Page". Every page will be linked to one or the other of
these pages. There may be some broken links on the pages we leave up, but we
will try to correct them as we find them. Please be patient if you hit a
"restricted page" message. That is just an old link to a page we
have taken down for the time being.
CaesarsPalaceDealers.com has drawn visitors from nearly 30 countries and
every state in the U.S. Dealers from around the country have been coming here,
and we welcomed them all. To be honest, we have been truly amazed, but in our
hearts we knew that every Dealer in this Country realizes the importance of
our mission. We will return the website to most of it's original form after we
win the election. But for now, as we have stated, we must concentrate on each
and every Dealer at one casino in the World, Caesars Palace.
We still welcome ALL feedback from anyone around the world, and especially
from the Dealers of Caesars Palace, and we will keep posting and responding to
them all.
There may be new pages added as we drive to the finish and they will be
announced on the NEWS PAGE
as they become available. We will also be adding a new scrolling marquee to
the Feedback and Homepage announcing what new links to new pages have been
added to those main pages.
For right now and for the days counting down, we must ALL:
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #276) From a Harrah's Tahoe Dealer
11-26-07:
In Lake Tahoe, Harrah’s properties have continually made
cuts in our bottom line, and other Northern Nevada casinos follow Harrah’s.
You are not alone in your bad experiences and distrust in Harrah’s. It is
everywhere.
Continue showing your strength and leadership. We dream about being in your
situation soon! Remember why you sent in your cards, follow through, and VOTE
YES!
RESPONSE:
Thanks for your support! We hope to all be meeting at Union
Meetings with the Lake Tahoe Dealers in the near future. We are behind you all
100%!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #275) From a Graveyard Dealer
11-25-07:
In response to #266:
First of all, you need to go back to grammar school!
Secondly, we were pointing out what other union workers
already have and we never will unless we NEGOTIATE for them.
Third, who are you to speak for all dealers when well over
400 have turned in Authorization Cards? You are an extra board that management
hasn't seen fit to hire full-time and you did not invent COURTEOUS, FRIENDLY
DEALERS THAT DEAL MORE THAN ONE GAME! So quit patting yourself on the back. We
were doing that before you were born and that is why Caesars Palace has the
reputation that it has and everyone wanted to buy it!
Fourth, WHO NEEDS YOUR APPROVAL FOR ANYTHING MUCH LESS PAYING
UNION DUES! IT IS A RIGHT TO WORK STATE AND NO ONE HAS TO PAY DUES IF THEY DO
NOT WANT TO.
Fifth, have you seen the Frontier contract?
Sixth, every time you talked to me, your only concern was
that they may hire someone with more seniority before you!! Your intentions sir,
are not for the betterment of the whole, but for yourself and that is plain to
see!
RESPONSE:
Please read the following post. Let's let it rest.
We want to again make a comment about the "Frontier
Contract". Think about it, it WAS a CONTRACT! Which MEANS that the Dealers
DID organize, management DID negotiate and they DID get a contact! Bottom
line.
If their contract was not a "very good" one, who was
to blame? The Dealers, NOT the TWU, negotiated their contract. The TWU will NOT
dictate to us what to accept or not accept. They will advise us, but not mandate
that we must accept or deny the contract. It was the
Dealers at the Frontier who approved and signed that contract,
NOT the Dealers of Caesars Palace, NOT the TWU.
Want to look at contracts? Let's look at the Culinary contract,
or the Teamsters, or the Operating Engineers, or whoever. WE ARE THE UNION! If
we agree to a bad contract, then we have nobody to blame but ourselves. On the other hand,
if we get a great contract, we will take the glory as well.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #274) From Doug Chavez 11-25-07:
Please post. Hello, this will be my last posting. I want to
respond to the false accusation that i may somehow be getting favoratism or some
kind special kickback from management for being against the union, when the
exact opposite is true, my view is from the heart and i truly believe we as a
whole are better off without the union but i will support whatever decision we
all decide together on the 22nd, i have spoken with 3 different managers
including my visit to the office the other night that you where so interested in
and everytime i wanted to know what all i could and could not do to support the
non union position and everytime I WAS STONGLY DISCOURAGED BY THEM AND TOLD NOT
TO DO ANYTHING, even though technically i could remove union material in the
break room and bring in my own material and talk about my opinion to anyone who
would listen, i was time and time again STONGLY DISCOURAGED BY THEM AND TOLD NOT
TO DO ANYTHING AT ALL BECAUSE OF THE RETALIATION I WOULD PERSONALLY RECIEVE FROM
THE PRO UNION SUPPORTERS, AND THAT IT WOULD CAUSE ME MORE PROBLEMS IN THE LONG
RUN THEN IT WAS WORTH. so in the end it was not the pro union supporters that
pursuaded me to not speak against the union but MANAGEMENT ITSELF THAT CHOICE TO
SILENCE ONE OF ITS FEW VOCAL SUPPORTERS. so from this point on i will not say or
do anything in favor of either position. i personally wish all my fellow dealers
only the best nomatter what side your on and when this is all over hope we can
continue to be the best team on the strip. please post. thank you.
Douglas Chavez
RESPONSE:
We appreciate your stance Doug, but as you know do not agree
with it nor some of your tactics. We are all in a stage where everyone is under
the microscope, so to speak. Your "office visit" was being talked
about by many Dealers, so we posed the question to you for them is all. It is
best for all of us not to draw attention to ourselves, because if we do people
are going to talk about it, pro and con.
Also, we admire your "fearless" effort. Not many would
put their names out for everyone to know. That takes strength. We just wish that
you would realize what is happening not only in the casino business, but in all
corporate structures in this country and use that great strength in what we
believe is in the best interest for everyone in our peer group. Please, read
this paper written by a publicized University Professor and used with their
permission on this website >>> UNION
MADE <<<. Hopefully it will help you make your decision.
Also, we are glad to hear the type of "advice" that
management is giving out to you. But remember this, just because they are in a
"position of authority" does not make them right about everything.
Nothing personal to any of our management, but many in life abuse authority. In
the specific advice they gave you though, we agree.
Feel free to continue to provide Feedback Doug, as you know, we
post them (as long as you are not attacking any group and are keeping it to the
real issues at hand...the Union). Give us your side, we'll give you ours. As you
know though, early on you have already covered many topics that we responded to
already, so please refrain from being redundant.
Sometimes it is best to "agree to disagree". Things
stay calmer that way.
Good Luck to you.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #273) From a 21 Dealer 11-25-07:
People like Douglas Chavez are important and necessary to
this whole process. Whatever his motivation for taking a particular stance on
issues, it provides a chance for healthy debate. He highlights issues that
should be discussed and provides us with opportunity to inform everybody of the
benefits of a Union. Douglas should be treated with respect for his opinions,
and we should be thankful for him, because he brings us a little closer to
solidarity every time he opens his mouth.
RESPONSE:
We agree with you. We know maybe we got a little
"hard" on him in an earlier post, but he was getting hard on us. We
have posted many Feedbacks from him and have answered them with respect. We have
no problem with posting opposing opinions, but we will also be responding to
them.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #272) From a 21 Dealer 11-25-07:
CONGRATULATIONS FOXWOODS! I COULD TELL BY THE VOTE IT WAS A
TOUGH ONE. WE WILL BE JOINING YOU IN SOLIDARITY ON DEC.22 FROM A CAESARS PALACE
SISTER!!!
RESPONSE:
DITTO!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #271) From a Day Shift Dealer
11-25-07:
Concerning our existing 401-K, can they take away any of the
funds in our account. I've heard we will probably have a pension with the union,
which I've heard will be better than a 401-K, but I'm nervous about what will
happen to the money I've worked so hard to accumulate. I'm hoping they cannot
legally take away any of that money. I've heard that they count our 401-K as
part of Harrah's net worth, so I'm sure they don't want to lose these funds. I'm
hoping we will be able to transfer existing funds to a privately held fund.
Thank you for your input.
RESPONSE:
They can NOT take away any funds from our 401K. The question
about retirement plans changes as we change. Initially, while we are in
negotiations for our Collective Bargaining Agreement, EVERYTHING and ALL
POLICIES stays "status quo". They can change nothing. Not our 401K,
not our tokes, not our insurance, nothing. All will remain exactly as it is
while we negotiate. We do not foresee us losing anything in negotiations, but
only gaining. There are many other Union contracts on our property that have set
precedents. We are employees on the same property and will be expecting similar
treatment in contract negotiations as the other Union members have.
As for a "pension", the TWU allows their Locals (our
Local being Local 721) to run autonomously. Another words, the Locals set up
their own rules with their own officers. While Local 721 is a new Local and
membership is very small at this time (only the Dealers in Nevada who have or
who are organizing), we expect it to grow rapidly. Until we reach a membership
size where we could investigate the possibilities of a "pension", it
will behoove us to keep our current 401K plan with CP. However, while keeping
our same 401K, we will be able to negotiate different rates. If however, down
the road as our Local grows and we want to go the way of a pension, we will have
that option. If we do, then at that time the 401K will be "frozen" and
will not be able to be touched until retirement. We are not allowed to
contribute to both a 401K and a pension plan at the same time. We assume that is
an IRS/Federal law. If we go the route of a pension and our 401K is
"frozen", CP can NOT withdraw anything from it either. Those funds are
yours when you retire, along with any pension you may have accumulated as well.
We will be having an "Open House" meeting VERY soon.
Please, everyone come with your questions there for clearer answers from the TWU
Organizers themselves. Watch your mailboxes for an announcement of the dates and
times of the Meetings.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #270) From a Swing Shift Dealer
11-25-07:
I just received my letter from Mr. Wike and I am appalled.
Does this man have no shame? Is he kidding or what? All of a sudden he cares
about our welfare, worrying that the union reps will annoy us at home?
Here is a man whom I have worked for since he started at
Caesars--a man who has never once acknowledged my existence (when he comes into
a pit he speaks only to a chosen few)--and he is worried about me now???? I
think not! I think he should worry about his own sorry butt! A lot of our
worries and concerns stem from his so-called leadership.
He makes me laugh along with his people beneath him. They
treat us like children....stupid children at that!! Well, we have some news for
you, Mr. Wike. We are not scared, stupid children.
We will make our own decisions about the union. We do not
need your input or protection. You never cared how any of us felt before. So
please, spare us your phony concern!
I really hope that someday, you will be at the mercy of your
superiors and will get just what you have given us!
RESPONSE:
This Readers response is similar from what we are hearing from
every Dealer.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #269) From a Swing Shift Dealer
11-25-07:
I just checked out the Lake Tahoe website. While it is still
in the beginning stages, I have to commend them for their information. It was
interesting and informative. Everyone should check it out and support them and
give them our feedback when appropriate. Thanks Lake Tahoe Dealers!! Good Luck!!
RESPONSE:
Yes it is a very informative website! Check it out everyone at www.laketahoedealers.com
and give them some feedback and your support.
We would like to add, that if you intend to leave feedback on
their website, you MUST use the www. in front of their address, although you can
visit the site without the www. in front, doing so will prevent anyone from
leaving feedback for some reason.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #268) From a Swing Shift Dealer 11-24-07:
Open letter to Jimmy Wike
I received your letter at my home. It's the same home that
you claim that the TWU harasses me at. I want the TWU to contact me whenever
they feel they need to. You, on the other hand, I don't want to here from at
all. I've been hearing from you for years and you haven't said anything to
benefit me.
I have been hammered in evaluations by your supervisors that
for some reason I don't work directly with. One supervisor is in a different
part of the casino and one was on a different shift. When I questioned this, I
was told that that's just how it is. The supervisor that went over my
evaluation, one who I did work with agreed with me that she didn't understand
the negative evaluation. She said that while working with me, she just did not
see me in a negative way.
Jimmy, I really appreciated working on Saturdays at 9pm when
all week I worked at 8pm. By the way , Saturday was my Friday. Jimmy, that was
your policy of days off seniority. No discussing that one, although I tried to
with one of your brainwashed ACM's.
Also I appreciated your two for one policy while training the
new dealers. Nothing against them, but you paid them with my money,
thanks.
I could go on and on, but I'll come to my point. Please stop harassing
me at my home with your bullshit letters. I own a home, I've been married to the
same woman over twenty years, I have put two kids through college, I have lived
most of my life not knowing that you even existed, so please don't try to give
me advice on what I should do concerning the TWU. I'm able to make my own
decisions.
RESPONSE:
We have yet to hear from ONE Dealer who appreciated the letter
sent by J.W.
We have a copy of it as well, and it will be addressed in it's entirety
very soon. We are just making sure that our response is appropriate, and we have
to gain a cooler head after reading it. We will answer ALL 10 (or was it more
like 17 questions disguised as 10? Par for the course.) questions within the
next few days.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #267) From a 21 Dealer 11-24-07:
Mr. Wike, I was not going to address you personally, but because
you sent a letter to my house signed by you I feel I may.
Those are some specific questions you ask. Will you put
any guarantees in writing? Will you speak on my behalf? You've never even spoken
to me. Are you threatening my 401, my benefits, my PTO?
I am not interested in the contract the TWU negotiated on at
the Frontier, they tore it down.
Why would I wait on Wynn, so I can see if you can take my
tokes too?
I am proud to work at Caesars, I enjoy my job, been doing it
many years and am still part-time. Why is that? Is the company investing in my
future? I think not!
Pushing for Union? Job security, seniority, toke security, a
voice. Apparently you have never thought those things important.
Is my frustration any reason to vote union? Most
certainly it is! You do not listen to the dealers, never have, probably never
will!
I know a lot about the TWU, look at the website. Call, search
the internet, you too can learn a lot about the TWU. The TWU will be our voice,
since my single voice was not important to you!
I am not interested in your answers now, you never wanted to
answer my questions before.
RESPONSE:
Now there's a Reader telling it like it is! APPLAUD!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #266) From a Doug Chavez 11-24-07:
first of all, i truly hope you will post my responce on the
website because some of what your saying is false and misleading. let me start
by saying that anything in the breakroom that is posted on the walls needs to
have managements approval before going up. none of the union material has
permission, therefore can be taken to anytime. as for all the trash being left
on all the tables with the lies that are being spread for example the flier that
has union with all the yeses on it, like if you vote union you get all that
stuff is not true, all voting union gets you is a negotiation. you obviously
have no idea where im from because im from wa. and i do deal every game except
tiles. please get your facts straight before you post. going on. IF YOU HAVE A
POSITIVE ATTITUDE, GIVE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DEAL TO THE BEST OF YOUR
ABILITY THEN YOU DO NOT NEED THE UNION. please now, the stand im taking is not
just for me, but for all the dealers, i truly believe we are better off without
the union. i cannot give my approval for the dealers to give out 25000 per month
(50x500)for someone to come in and say i will try my best the union promises
nothing please look at the frontier contract its a joke. or at least let us wait
to see the wynn contract to see if its worth it. and to ...... if you read this
i have never had a problem with any dealer at work and i tried to apologize to
you twice if i upset you but i do not want my stand to upset anyone. but someone
has to stand up for the non union side so that we can all together make the best
choice.
if i dont see my responce posted i will probly just print 100 copies of what you
said about me and my responce and put it in the breakroom as an example of how
one sided this site is and how it doesnt really care about whats best for the
dealers.
one more thing, the dealers at wynn had a case to put where the iho could put
all there pro union material and our iho have not even asked for a spot, so
technically nothing pro union is safe in the breakroom
RESPONSE:
We have posted all of your other feedbacks, why not this one?
We won't edit or clean it up for you, because we don't want you to say how we changed
it. Posted exactly how it was received. We have used your name because you are
writing comments on the flyers in the break room and signing your name to
them. Evidently you have no problem with us using your name on your posts. You
also included your name and email address with your post.
Okay, so we had been informed you were from a different area of
the country. We apologize for that. We stand corrected.
DC writes, "let me start by saying that anything in the
breakroom that is posted on the walls needs to have managements approval before
going up. none of the union material has permission, therefore can be taken to
anytime." So, are you acting on behalf of management and monitoring the
break room? Funny, we thought you were a dealer. We wrong there?
DC writes, "as for all the trash being left on all the
tables with the lies that are being spread for example the flier that has
union with all the yeses on it, like if you vote union you get all that stuff
is not true, all voting union gets you is a negotiation." What do you
think comes out of negotiations? All of the stuff that is listed under the
"yes" column IS possible with a Union, but NONE of it is possible
WITHOUT the Union. Nowhere on the flyers does it say that these things are
guaranteed now does it? Go ask any other Union employee if the list is accurate
in their situation. Go ahead, go ask them. They ALL have what is listed under
the Union column. Why should we not have some reasonable expectation of the
same? Tell us, were you "negotiating" something for yourself in the
office when you were late returning to your game? What did you negotiate?
Share it with all of us if you want us to make an educated decision. Prove
your point. Show us what you can negotiate by yourself.
DC writes, "IF YOU HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE, GIVE
GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DEAL TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY THEN YOU DO NOT
NEED THE UNION." Really? Many of us have been at CP for decades and
have given just that. We do need a Union. Maybe if you spend as much time on
ONE job as many of us have, you would learn the truth.
DC writes. "i cannot give my approval for the dealers
to give out 25000 per month (50x500)for someone to come in and say i will try
my best " What? Oh, maybe you are talking about Union Dues. Well
Doug, IF YOU HAD DONE YOUR HOMEWORK you would know that neither do you have to
pay Union Dues, you do not have to belong to the Union when it is voted in.
"RIGHT TO WORK STATE" Do your homework and GET YOUR FACTS straight.
DC writes, "the union promises nothing". Not
true. The Union promises Solidarity and a spot at the negotiating table. It is
up to US to make the best of it. Without the power to negotiate, we have no
power.
DC writes, "please look at the frontier contract its a
joke." Maybe it is, BUT the Dealers of the Frontier DID ratify it!
They are the one's who negotiated that contact and voted on it and approved
it. If it was a bad contract there is nobody to blame but those who voted yes
to accept it. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Geeeeesh!
DC writes, "or at least let us wait to see the wynn
contract to see if its worth it." You don't get it do you? That is
EXACTLY what management wants us to do! OPEN YOUR EYES! The casinos run this
state. What do you think the courts are going to rule in the Wynn case? That
he CAN take their tokes for redistribution? Should we wait for that decision?
If the court DOES decide for Steve, then it will cost you a LOT more than the
$50 a month you are complaining about not having to pay. Grasp some reality.
Many of us have been in Nevada and the gaming business longer than you are
old, we know how it works in this state. Learn from us Doug. We are truly
looking out for not only ourselves, but for you too.
DC writes, "if you read this i have never had a
problem with any dealer at work and i tried to apologize to you twice if i
upset you but i do not want my stand to upset anyone." But you are.
DC writes, "so that we can all together make the best
choice." B-I-N-G-O!!! We can NOT stand together WITHOUT a Union Doug.
That is the purpose of organizing, don't you see that? Read the website Doug.
Learn about our history. We HAVE gone without a Union for long enough, and all
it has gotten us is disrespect, fear for our jobs and lost benefits.
Now, print 100 copies of your feedback and our response Doug.
Feel free. We won't rip them down like you have done. But do us one favor,
also print the response to your feedback. Like you have stated, there are two
sides.
One last thing, we are NOT THE WYNN! God bless them, but our
situation is different. It is terrible what happened there, and we ARE going
to prevent it from happening to us. Lock in what we have with a
"YES" vote!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #265) From a Dealer 11-24-07:
Swing shift Extra board dealer Doug Chavez is ripping down
union flyers off the walls and grabbing the ones off the tables crumpling them
up and throwing them in the trash. When confronted about it he said quote
"There are two sides". As far as I know there haven't been any
instances of pro union advocates destroying literature. I would like you to make
sure every dealer in the house is informed of Doug Chavez's behavior, and let
them know it will not be tolerated.
RESPONSE:
We was wondering when we were going to hear from this guy again.
When the website first came online, he kept himself busy sending us feedback and
bashing us. We did post all of his feedback, and maybe we will post it all again
to remind everyone who this guy is.
D... C..... is basically new to Las Vegas. He moved here from
one of the southern gaming states. He claims he deals all of the games (we have
never seen him on Baccarat, Pai Gow, tiles or roulette, but could be wrong
there) and should be promoted to full-time over everyone else because of it. He
has made statements that the Union is good for Full-time Dealers, but not for
the Extra-board because he does not feel that seniority is a fair way to
promote.
D... C..... if there are "two sides", then why don't
you do as we have done? Build a website promoting your side? Print up flyers?
No? To much like "work"? Why don't you sit in the Dealer's Lounge and
tell everyone your side C.....? Afraid to? Why don't you educate everyone about
the "other side"?
Tearing down and throwing away the flyers going to get you
promoted D...? We heard you were in the office and were late coming back to your
game. What was up with that? Did you make up the time to the Dealer you were
late taking out? No?
You may want to know C..... that being promoted or promised to
be promoted for anti-union activity is against Federal law. Did you know that?
Do you care? Anything to be promoted over someone else huh D...? You think they
will break Federal Law for you D...? We will be watching for that.
Hey D..., do you know how many management teams we have been
through? Who has been at CP over say 5 years? None? Well, we have 40 year
Dealers. Management will be long gone, but the Dealers, the people who you work
with on the Dice table, will still be here.
Did you get promoted to Full-time with the last batch just
recently D...? Why not? You were more senior than some of them probably. Oh
that's right, you believe in "meritorious advancement". Well D..., evidently
you are not "cutting the mustard" then, because you are still
extra-board. So, now you resort to turning on over 400 of the Dealers who sent
in A-Cards and who you work with to get promoted? Very "meritorious"
D... Says a LOT about who you really are, but you don't care do you.
Please Sir, make me full-time, please Sir, I'll do anything,
anything but put in my time.
People, don't be turned off by this guy or our post here. If you
want, request the feedbacks and emails we received from this guy and you will
see why we have taken the tone with him that we have.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #264) From a 21 Dealer 11-24-07:
Heard a whisper that anyone voted in as a Union Rep will have
some sort of Mega seniority, above all others. Is this true or Union Busting
tactics?
RESPONSE:
Huh? Sounds like someone just trying to stir something up. We
don't believe that CP will grant anyone any type of "mega seniority".
They don't even want the Union in (spending money on two men to come in to
"educate" us), so why the "reward"?
There will be two types of Union Representatives voted in by the
Dealers once we vote in the Union, Shop Stewards and Contract Negotiators.
Shop Stewards may have to have flexible schedules because of
their duties. Whenever a Union employee is called into the office and requests
a Shop Steward to be present, the company must abide. Don't know if that can
be construed as "mega seniority" though, just possibly a scheduling
thing, even if that. How hard is it to pull an apron to "push" the
Shop Steward to accompany a member to the office?
Contract Negotiators must be allowed "off days" on
the days negotiations are to take place. They will be reimbursed any
wages/tokes by the Union for time off for negotiation days. We see no extra
"mega seniority" there either.
Remember people, there will be many "rumors" flying
around. Some innocently and others purposefully. We had an "Open
House" meeting once in October for everyone to come and ask questions.
The Dealers can become more educated on the entire process if they come to the
next "Open House" meetings we are scheduling very soon. We want
everyone to attend these meetings, pro-union or anti-union people. Come with
your questions and get solid answers. We will not "have to check on it
and get back with you" on your questions, such as the
"moderators" in the CP mandatory meetings. The answers will be
there.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #263) From the IUGE 11-23-07:
THANK
YOU, STEVE WYNN. THANK YOU.
Gaming
dealers in
Las Vegas
, and for that matter, statewide, have always had legitimate reasons to harbor
resentment against their employers. Chief among them was, and still is, job
security. To be at the mercy of a management team who has no interest in your
welfare, much less your survival is not a good place to be.
Of course, there are many other issues, most dealers would agree, that set
them apart from almost any other worker in the American work force. In terms
of workplace rights, wages and benefits, dealers are at the bottom of the
heap. They reside in a pre-fair deal workplace with no way out. Arbitrary
firings, frozen wages, zero sick time, workman’s comp denials; the list goes
on.
But all this was never enough for the dealers to gather together the steam and
the gumption needed to organize themselves into a union which could speak and
fight for them.
Many Americans have sought the protection of unions. Teachers, firemen,
policemen, state and federal workers and so many other groups have organized,
but casino workers never took the step.
Now, thanks to Steve Wynn, the dealers finally have the one issue that could
turn the trick.
TAKING OUR TOKES!
Attack our income, steal our tokes and now we have a battle cry that will bind
us together and give us the rock-solid motivation we need to create a union of
our own. One that will do battle with the wizards of the backroom deal, the
manipulators of law makers and judges, the iron hands of the casino pit, our
oppressors.
But Wynn and Pascal were not the first to attempt to hijack dealer’s tokes.
On July 19, 1999 the International Union of Gaming Employees (IUGE) sent a
letter to Brian McMullan, the then president and CEO of the Resort at
Summerlin. In it we declared our opposition to their newly adopted policy of
taking dealer’s tokes to benefit casino floor people. We quoted three court
cases each of which stated that the employer may not use or retain tip money
for his own benefit. Within days the executives responsible for the policy
were let go and the policy abandoned. Here we are seven years later and again
facing the same issue.
By
the way, the Wynn dealers, Daniel Baldonado and Joseph Cesarz, who are
organizing a legal challenge to Mr. Wynn’s and Mr. Pascal’s money grab,
deserve hero status in the dealer’s hall of fame. It takes guts to stand up
to Wynn and his crew, and they should be applauded.
We know Steve Wynn has a reputation as a good employer. One can only wonder
whether Wynn president Andrew Pascal, in his desire to enhance his bottom line
and improve shareholder loyalty has made a fatal error in adopting this flawed
policy.
But now it is time that we ask all dealers to face the Wynn resort and
genuflect to Steve Wynn and Andrew Pascal and thank them for finally giving us
an issue that cannot be ignored, a fight that cannot be avoided, and a war
that cannot be lost.
Now that the door has been opened and the vultures have whet their appetites
for our money, the time is upon us to do what we all know must be done.
Dealer’s
Union
, do not be afraid. Dealer’s
Union
, we stand together. Dealer’s
Union
, finally!
Tony
Badillo
Jack
Lipsman
Las Vegas
RESPONSE:
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #262) From a Dealer
11-23-07:
GOOD LUCK TO FOXWOODS TOMORROW!
WE ARE WAITING FOR YOUR GOOD NEWS AND LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR
VOTE ON DEC.22ND.
GO UNION GO!
SOLADARITY IS THE ANSWER!
VOTE YES TO THE UNION!
RESPONSE:
Hear! Hear!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #261) From a Dealer
11-23-07:
The President Gary Selesner blatantly lied about not using
our attendance to determine whether or not we got bonuses on our review. Well I
just got my yearly review and of course it was sent back to be redone because I
had 6 points (do to asthma) and was told this was the reason I did not get a
bonus. Totally disregarding the countless service awards in my file and emails
for accommodation from other supervisors including one where I saved a mans life
who was having a stroke. They used my attendance as the scape-goat in total
contradiction to what he promised in a meeting with close to 80 dealers present.
RESPONSE:
It seems to us that either Mr. Selesner doesn't know what is
going on on the properties he is in charge of, or he lied.
If he doesn't know what is going on on his properties, then why
is he the President of Harrah's Western Division? Isn't it his responsibility to
know what is going on on his properties he is in charge of?
No matter what their excuse is, there is no excuse. If they fail
us in any of their policies they just say "ooops, I stubbed my toe"
and try to walk away from it.
We are curious, does the Reader have FMLA? Were their absences
recorded as FMLA days? If so, then they should have ZERO points.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #260) From a Dayshift Dealer
11-23-07:
In response to post #259:
This is incredible!!! This is our employer [HARRAH'S] at its
best. Why do I feel that when the new owners come in this Jan., that Harrah's
will try this because "the new owners want it".
PROTECT OUR MONEY.
VOTE YES FOR OUR STRENGTH.
RESPONSE:
Please remember everyone, it is "Harrah's" who is
trying to claim that they do not NOW intend to take our tokes for
redistribution. EVERYTHING can change with the new owners, because it is like
the Reader writes, "the new owners want it"! It is NOT the new
owners making any such claim as Harrah's is, so they can easily say, "We
did not make those claims".
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #259) From a 21 Dealer 11-23-07:
The power of a union.
I talked to one of Caesars Gourmet Food Servers who mentioned
that Harrah's was going to force them to start splitting their tokes with the
Sommeliers (wine servers).
The Sommeliers get about 30 thousand a year and very few
tokes the servers can make more than a dealer! But guess what?
They are management, not union! Sounds familiar right?
Yeah, Instead of a multi-billion dollar corporation paying
the Sommeliers more, or a percentage of wine sales (a pretty simple solution),
they once again try to shake down the working stiff for the tab!
But wait, in comes the union reps to the rescue and low and
behold Harrah's has to back down!
Thank you union representation!
What's really funny is this server was, until now, anti
union! I wonder what he has to say now?
RESPONSE:
A fine example WHY we need to join/form a Union NOW!
Think about this everyone, if management does something that
affects every employee in the corporation and it saves management just $1 a day
per employee (costs the employee $1 a day), that is $80,000 per day, or $29.2
million a year, in their pocket (an estimated 80K employees work for Harrah's)!
Yes, just a few pennies a day from every employee adds up fast.
How many supervisors are there in all of their casinos? How much
can they save and how much will the tipped employee lose if they can steal our
tips to supplement their pay/salaries?
Do not even entertain the idea that they will not take our tips,
if we allow them by not protecting ourselves NOW!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #258) From a 21 Dealer 11-22-07:
I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to the webmaster, the
IHOs, and the committee, also the union guys from the TWU and all your families.
I am thankful today that you guys stuck your neck out and worked really hard to
give us our day at the polls. I hope you all have a very peaceful, abundant day!
Thank You!
RESPONSE:
Thanks!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #257) From a 21 Dealer 11-22-07:
HI: Been dealing 21 for a long time here 33 yrs. Have a BS
degree as well in Hotel.
My question WHY the TWU and Not the UAW or The Iron Workers
union? Seems to me they would be better and stronger. If you dealing in a Major
strip Hotel, I don't think anyone will walk when the income is +$50,000. Look
around, all my company wants to hire is other.
It's true what you say about points, being sick etc and I
agree the corporations keep taking and taking. Everyone else is a union member
in Las Vegas and WHY NOT CASINO DEALERS? GO GET 'EM. Hear we are trying to at
one of MGM/Mirage Properties.
Good Luck
RESPONSE:
Thanks for dropping by! We were not going to put any posts on
today, being it Thanksgiving and all, but felt this Reader has some questions
that we must address.
The Reader asks, "My question WHY the TWU and Not the
UAW or The Iron Workers union? Seems to me they would be better and stronger."
Good question. When The Wynn Dealers were looking for a Union
to help represent them, they asked several Unions, including the UAW, but all
declined. EXCEPT the TWU! They did not hesitate to come help. That is the
first sign of strength and solidarity, no hesitation to come help. We believe
that all Dealers in Las Vegas should belong to the same Union. Strength.
Yes, the TWU does represent "baggage handlers", but
the next time you watch the Space Shuttle prepare for launch, check out the
ground crews there. They are TWU members too. The TWU represents MANY
different types of workers, as does the UAW.
In Detroit, it is the UAW which represents the Dealers there,
but there are problems. The contracts in Detroit include five different Unions
on one contract. Not good. When one of the Unions is not satisfied with the
contract, but the other four are, oh well. The contract gets ratified. That
will not happen with Local 721.
The TWU has been in existence for over 70 years now. How many
casino companies have that life-span? None. Unions were first formed in 1934.
The TWU was formed just three years after the first Unions were formed in
America, and has been in existence ever since. Pretty strong if you ask us.
Also, the TWU has over 120,000 members, and yes, many are airline workers. Who
supplies the tourists to Las Vegas? The airlines. Strength.
The Locals of the TWU are autonomous. Another words, each Local
elects their own President, Secretary, Treasurer, etc... The TWU International
does NOT run the Locals, the Local members do. So, Local 721, Las Vegas
Dealers Union, will be ran by Dealers. Yes, they will be/become educated. It's
a beautiful thing!
Over the last ten years, the Dealers at Caesars Palace have
not gained anything without a Union, but have lost much. The day we vote the
Union in, on 12/22/07, we will have a contract. That's right. How? Because
when the Union is voted in everything stays "status quo". We have
been losing everything over the last ten years, and when we vote the Union in,
the losses stop. Status Quo. However, while in negotiations, they must
continue to give us things that are scheduled, such as the $.04 raises, like
we were getting without the Union. We will not lose anything. We will only
gain through negotiations. An avenue we didn't have without a Union.
Theoretically, we can work for years without a contract, and
we are gaining just by keeping what we had when we voted in the Union.
Especially considering that we were doing nothing but getting everything taken
away from us without the Union. That is a gain in itself. So, as we maintain
our status quo and proceed with negotiations, other casinos will be
organizing. In a few months, maybe ten will organize, then another 20 in a few
more months, then another 50 a few months after that, and eventually we foresee
every casino Dealer in Las Vegas being part of our Union. Strength.
Also, we hopefully can consider some type of training program
where the Union trains professional Dealers. This will benefit both the
casinos and the Dealers. Think about "apprenticeship programs" ran
by Trade Unions. Maybe we can do something very similar to that. This is a
whole other topic though, but know this everyone, there are some very big
plans. Plans that will benefit everyone involved, workers and business alike.
We hope we have answered your question "Why the TWU"
to your satisfaction. If not, please write us again and hopefully we will be
able to provide more information.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #256) From the Organizing
Committee 11-21-07:
ANOTHER DEALER'S WEBSITE IS ONLINE!
That's right, Dealers from another casino had created their
website to get their Union Drive started in Lake Tahoe!
LakeTahoeDealers.com
is ONLINE!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #255) From a Harrah's Property Dealer
11-21-07:
This is a very exciting time for dealers. So many are
counting on your success. If a dominant strip property like Caesars goes union
then the whole town may find the courage to follow suit, unlike the last time
there was a union vote for dealers in Vegas.
I see on your web site that anyone can fill in a card. Could
you please explain what that entails. I work for another Harrah's property and
have not heard of any plans to form a union. But Lord knows we all need to be
unionized, I can't even imagine what changes are in store for us after the Harrah's
sell is final.
God Bless You all for your hard work.
Bring Dignity back to Workers in America. Bring back what we
can of the good old days.
Give us Unity!!!
Vote YES!
You can all change the landscape of VEGAS!
RESPONSE:
Thanks for visiting!
Caesars Palace Dealers, as you can see, every Dealer in LV is
counting on us. Let's show them the way!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
Vote "YES" on
12/22/07!
(Post #254) From a Swing Shift Dealer 11-20-07:
The founding father of Apollo Management owns a billion
dollar art collection. A billion! Once his IPO happens another billion! You have
no vested interest in Harrah's anymore. Only the select few have an interest.
Leon Black founded Apollo Management in 1990. Prior to this, he was an executive
at Drexel Burnham.
Currently, Apollo has $16 billion in assets. Its most recent fund -- Fund VI,
L.P. – has $12 billion in assets. The firm has struck 76 deals and has posted
average annual returns of 34%.
Apollo tends to focus on underperforming – or even distressed – companies.
The firm has a strong operational team that knows how to fix up companies.
Although, Apollo has recently been venturing beyond such deals. For example, the
firmed teamed with the Texas Pacific Group to buy Harrah’s, which is a
top-performing company.
Other investment vehicles from Apollo include:
• Apollo Real Estate Advisors
• Apollo Investment Company
According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, it looks like Black is
exploring either a private placement or a public offering. It could net him $1
billion or more.
Bio: Leon Black
Founding Partner of Apollo Management LP
Age: 56
Leon Black graduated from Dartmouth and then attended Harvard Business School.
In his second year, his father committed suicide.
From there, he began his career on Wall Street with Drexel Burnham Lambert and
worked for the legendary Mike Milken. He learned how to structure junk bond
financing and was part of some of the biggest leveraged buyouts during the
1980s.
However, by the late 1980s, the buyout boomed ended and Drexel sunk into
bankruptcy. As for Black, he saw a big opportunity.
So, in 1990, he formed Apollo Management and bought Executive Life, which was a
major holder of junk bonds. It turned out to be a stellar deal.
Black has a reputation for negotiating hard. He also focuses on underperforming
or distressed companies.
He also has an extensive art collection, which is estimated to be worth more
than $1 billion.
RESPONSE:
VERY interesting!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #253) From a Swing Shift Dealer 11-20-07:
My fellow dealers,
Do you remember when if a dealer was sick or had a broken arm
or a wrist/finger management would let us work at the Big 6 or as a apron? But
JW, in his infinite wisdom, stopped this compassion for us. He stated if you
cannot deal all the games that you know, we do not require your services. So you
(dealer) should go home and come back when you can deal all the games that you
are supposed to deal. Dealers that were hurt or sick could not be helped, so
they had to suffer and not get any money/tokes for as long as they could not
perform their job at peak performance. This is how they feel about us they think
that we are a piece of rag and they can abuse us as much as they want to.
CAESARS PALACE was the epitome of a dealing job! They treated
us with so much respect and love, but all of this has changed.
Do you know why all of this has changed? It's because we have
been bought and sold so many times by major conglomerates that we are just a
number to them. No more caring for us, just abuse us and we just take it by
saying yes sir, thank you sir, thank you so much.
We can change all of this on 22 Dec 07! Please dealers, even
if you are off this day please come in to vote at the times that are allotted to
us. We will not get a second chance, no absentee ballots, no tomorrow just 22
Dec 07
This
is D-DAY for us!
Stay together stay strong stay united and most important
please vote YES FOR TWU
We need better benefits, we need to make sure they do not
take away our tokes. We need to get paid at least the same wages as a cocktail
waitress at Caesars Palace.
Does management not think that our expenses have gone up? It
cost us 40.00$ to fill our car. We can barely get any groceries for 100.00$. Our
insurance costs us more, our out of pocket expenses have gone up with this insurance.
Yet we still make the same as what we made 20 yrs ago! No chance for a raise
only the federal minimum wage applies to us, if this goes up then our wages go
up, if not tough luck. If they do give us a raise its a joke, they give us a
raise of 3 to 5 cents an hour! Is this a cruel joke?
My fellow dealers 22nd Dec 07 is the most crucial day for us.
Please all dealers that were employed on Nov 15th 07, this includes Part timers,
Pussy Cat dealers, full time dealers "of course" all crap dealers, all
21 dealers every dealer at Caesars that work in the pits of Caesars Palace.
Pussy Cat dealers, I am so proud of you all, its just
beautiful! You all have come through for all the dealers at Caesars Palace. We
love having you working with us! It gives me great pleasure that I can work side
by side with you all. Pussy Cat dealers you all our real classy ladies and I
salute you all.
Just remember we have to vote yes on22 Dec07 even its your
day off, you and all the other dealers have to make time to come and vote and
you all please vote A RESOUNDING YES FOR TWU.
Strength and Honor
Your fellow dealer.
The Romans our here and there is no
stopping us, not now not ever.
xoxo
RESPONSE:
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #252) From a MGM/Mirage Dealer 11-20-07:
In response to post #246,
UNITED YOU WILL BARGAIN DIVIDED YOU WILL BEG.
cp dealers stay united
Vote YES on Dec 22, 2007
so you may walk proud and united with your collective
bargaining agreement signed on Dec.22,2008.
RESPONSE:
Our thoughts exactly!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #251) From a Swing Shift Dealer 11-20-07:
Dear Caesars Palace Dealers
Please do not loose sight of the most
important date in your life DECEMBER 22, 2007.
This is our day and we will all shine this day.
Please if you are off work this day make a little sacrifice
in your life and come in to VOTE Vote YES for the union, cause this will
not only help you but the future generation of dealers (maybe your own sons and
daughter or maybe your grand kids).
Please dealers if there is anything you do on the 22nd of
December 2007 it is to vote and vote YES for the UNION. Great hopes and
expectations lies with these votes at Caesars Palace everybody is looking at us,
they expect leadership from CAESARS PALACE DEALERS, lets prove them right!
RESPONSE:
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #250) From a Full-time Dealer 11-20-07:
My Fellow Caesars Palace Dealers,
Remember in the next 5 weeks that "union busters" will come in many
forms.
Some will try to divide us such as "old time dealers
against the new dealers"
They may come in the form of dealers themselves portraying
pro-union while down grading other dealers.
Look for the devil in the angel suit.
DON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!
We only win when we stay united!
ALSO, IF YOU ARE OFF SAT. DEC.22-YOU
MUST COME IN AND VOTE IN PERSON!!!
THE VOTING TIMES ARE 9:30AM-2:30PM
AND 6:30PM-11:30PM. WE WILL BE VOTING IN THE
TRAINING ROOM NEXT TO CLEOS!!
TAKE TIME OUT FROM YOUR BUSY HOLIDAY TO VOTE!!
YOU ARE MAKING HISTORY FOR EVERY DEALER IN LAS VEGAS. YOU ARE
IMPORTANT!!! EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!
I CAN TELL YOU THAT BELLAGIO DEALERS ARE ASKING FOR BUMPER
STICKERS AND UNION PINS TO WEAR UNDER THEIR VESTS! WE HAVE SUPPORT AND THEY ARE
ALL WAITING TO SEE IF WE STICK TOGETHER. LET US NOT LET THE ENTIRE DEALER BODY
OF LAS VEGAS DOWN.
THE ATLANTIC CITY CASINOS ARE GOING UNION AT A RECORD PACE.
FOXWOODS HAS THEIR VOTE IN NOV.
WE ARE THE LEADERS IN LAS VEGAS!!
STAY STRONG ---STAY UNITED---VOTE YES ON SAT. DEC. 22.
RESPONSE:
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #249) From an Atlantic City
Dealer 11-20-07:
Caesars Palace- you're going to get a LOT of negative crap
about why you shouldn't be involved with unionizing. Memos, meetings, scare
tactics, maybe even phone calls to your respective homes. DON'T GIVE IN!!!! They
have tried it in Atlantic City, even so far as to threaten foreign dealers with
their green cards if they vote yes.
DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Take notes at the meetings (you'll
probably even see the $94,000,000+ shyster himself at one of them). If you are
approached by the uppers and spoken to, write down the date, time and place it
happened. Take pictures (cell phones are great for this) of all the anti-union
rhetoric that the uppers will post in your break rooms. Give all of this to your
union reps, so that you have proof that the uppers are intimidating you.
They have resorted to illegal tactics in AC, they'll try to
do it in Vegas as well.
STAY STRONG!!!! You're on your way!!!
RESPONSE:
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #248) From a Wynn Dealer 11-20-07:
WAKE UP... The Union is the best thing that has happened to
Las Vegas Dealers ever. A little patience will see it through! Strength is in
numbers and that is what it is all about.
Admittedly, it is a process and patience is key here.
Be Strong and Unite!
RESPONSE:
AGREED!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #247) From the Organizing
Committee 11-20-07:
More stories in the Newspapers! The LV
Sun published these stories on Monday the 19th... "Dealers
Sour on Caesars" and "The
Dice Dealer" and "The
Card Dealer". Great job guys!
(Post #246) From a Full Time 11-18-07:
so now u admit that it could take years to sogn a contract.
but "nothing can change while we are negotiating"
Thats great NOT
So we vote in the union and yippie for us we get to keep everything we have now.
WAKE up the only leverage you have is to get Caesars to be anything better going
forward is to BEG management to change thier policies.
WAKE UP
RESPONSE:
Wake up? We have. Tell us, how has "begging" ever
worked for you? Do you have better insurance than the rest of us? A better
401K plan? Do you have a signed agreement stating your tokes can not be
touched by management? How is your seniority?
Yes, with everything "locked in" that is MUCH better
than having everything taken away don't you think? They have been bleeding us
for years. It has nothing to do with who they are hiring. There has always been
hiring and always veteran Dealers retiring. How many "day one" Dealers
are still at CP? None. People retire.
As for us keeping everything we have now, we guess you won't
mind giving up your tokes for redistribution? Guess what, with the Union voted
in they can NOT do that to us. Don't matter to you?
Let's see, the 401K was recently a 6% match, with the first 3%
being a 100% match and the next 3% being a 50% match. What is it now? A 3% match
and NO MORE. With a Union voted in at least they won't unilaterally take that
away.
They have already taken away so much, without a Union it will
continue. We do not see "begging" as an option. Bargaining on the
other hand IS an option.
As for the length of time it takes to get an agreement, who
knows, maybe we can get one in a few months and not "years" as you
have stated. If we don't try we won't find out now will we? Options. How many
do you have? Begging? Is that an "option"?
"Begging" did NOT get our toke bylaws back now did
it? What was J.W.'s words in the meeting concerning that? "That's not
going to change". Well, it DID and ONLY because of our Union drive!
Did "begging" get our INCREASED health insurance
premiums decreased? Nope. What did? The Union drive did!
Sorry, but "begging" is NOT leverage. How can you even
think that it is? Maybe there is someone else who should "wake up".
There is a much bigger picture being painted. Want to learn
about it? Join the organizing committee. When the Union has the "open
house" meetings, come. Ask questions. Get answers. Get involved TOGETHER
and get educated.
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #245) From a Wynn Dealer 11-17-07:
Good luck to all the Caesars dealers! Don't be fooled by
anything they say, once they turn you, they will turn against you, be strong in
numbers, together we can get all the dealers in town. Alone not so strong,
together we can run the city. Good luck to all of you and VOTE YES DECEMBER
22ND...
UNION YES, UNION YES, UNION YES...Wynn dealers have given you our support keep
it strong....
RESPONSE:
Thanks for your Feedback and for your support!
STAY FOCUSED,
STAY STRONG,
STAY UNITED!
TOGETHER WE "DEAL"!
(Post #244) From a 21 Dealer 11-17-07:
It seems that our management DOES NOT UNDERSTAND what harassment
on the job means.
They just finished their classes, and on the week that we
signed up to go, and following their
