Worker Station

Four years ago, they took over half-a-billion dollars from Station Casinos

2007 LBO cash payments to Station Casinos company insiders:

• Blake Sartini and Delise Sartini (née Fertitta): $200,919,330
• Frank J. Fertitta III: $148,654,355
• Lorenzo J. Fertitta: $145,069,850

Also,

• Glenn Christenson: $51,889,130 
• Scott Nielsen $41,130,055 
• William Warner $39,825,510
• Richard Haskins $16,563,680  
• Thomas Friel $5,860,265
• James Nave, DVM $3,641,700
• Lowell Lebermann, Jr. $2,801,700
• Lee Isgur $2,205,000
• Robert E. Lewis $1,575,000

Since 2007, Station Casinos workers have not had a wage increase. The company has made insurance costs more expensive and stopped matching contributions to 401(k)s.  There is no job security for Station Casinos workers. And the company has told workers not to join the union.

Sign a petition to demand fair treatment for Station Casinos workers!

 

“STATION CASINOS REPORTS INCREASED PROFITS, REVENUE”

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Station Casinos "reported improved revenue and profit from operations in the second quarter." 

But when will YOU be making more, too?

When will you have free family health care and a pension?

When will you have rights on the job?

When will you have job security?

Is Station Casinos "pro-employee" because...

• It has allegedly violated your right to organize over 165 times, as charged by the U.S. Government in the largest ever Unfair Labor Practice case against a Nevada gaming company? 
• Over 80 percent of the workers affected by Station Casinos’ alleged illegal actions in the unfair labor practice case have been Latino?
• The company has made health benefits more expensive for you, stopped paying for your retirement savings, and has not given you a raise since it gave over half a BILLION dollars to top executives and directors in 2007? 
• After having fired 2,800 employees since 2007, it is now  hiring 1,000 new workers, half of whom will be part-timers with no medical benefits, no paid vacation, and no paid holidays?

WILL THE NEW STATION CASINOS BE FAIR TO ITS WORKERS?

Station Casinos has fired over 2,800 people since the 2007 buyout.

On January 14, the company put out a press release saying it wanted to hire 1,000 more workers.

Will Station Casinos make sure the new hires are paid equally, treated fairly, and given the chance to qualify for benefits?

How about those of us who stuck with the Old Station Casinos through the tough times?

• GIVE US ENOUGH HOURS TO QUALIFY FOR BENEFITS!
• MAKE US “FULL-TIME” SO WE CAN QUALIFY FOR BENEFITS!
• GIVE US OUR FIRST WAGE INCREASE SINCE 2007!
• RESPECT OUR RIGHT TO ORGANIZE!

 

“Best Company to Work For” FAIL, again

Why has Station Casinos failed to make Fortune Magazine’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work For again, for the third year in a row?

In the 2007 buyout, thirteen top Station Casinos executives and owners paid themselves $660 million while saddling the company with billions of dollars of debt. This increased debt load made it difficult for the company to deal with the steep economic downturn in Las Vegas. It soon resorted to subcontracting out whole departments (reservations, uniform rooms) and customer-favorite coffee shops, putting hundreds of workers out of work. Since the buyout, the company had terminated more than 2,800 employees, cutting its workforce by over 20%, even though most of the top executives who benefited from the buyout have stayed in place and kept their jobs and their pays and perks.

Many workers have had enough and have demanded to be allowed to make their own decision about forming a union. The company responded by waging a brutal anti-union campaign, using alleged intimidation, harassment, surveillance and other union-busting tactics against its own employees. The government has charged the company with over 165 violations of its employees’ right to participate in union activities, and the company is on trial in front of an National Labor Relations Board Administrative Judge.

It’s hardly a great workplace where employees, except those at the very top, cannot get affordable benefits and have no guarantee that you’ll have a job tomorrow no matter how long you’ve worked at the company. It cannot be a great place to work where management refuses to respect employees’ legal rights on the job. It’s no wonder Station Casinos has again failed to be named one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For.

 

The Holiday Season Is Here!

Three years ago this time, 13 people at the top of Station Casinos got $660 MILLION from the company. How about the rest of us?

• When are we going to get our first wage increase in three years? 
• When will we have free health insurance for our families?
• When will Station Casinos stop giving away our jobs to outside companies ?
• Will all the terminated coffee shop workers get their jobs back — with seniority and benefits — when the company brings back its own coffee shops? 
• When will we have a company-paid pension?
• When will Station Casinos let us freely exercise our right to join a Union?

What Does Station Casinos’ “New Beginning” Mean For Station Casinos Workers?

Many of us would like to see the New Station Casinos begin to act like a good employer by Las Vegas standards:

At the New Station Casinos, workers should have job security. During the bankruptcy, the Company terminated hundreds of workers and replaced them with outside employees. At the New Station Casinos, this should not happen anymore.

At the New Station Casinos, workers should have access to quality family health insurance. They should enjoy the same kind of health plan that is used by tens of thousands of workers on the Strip and has no monthly premium and plenty of options (unlike an HMO).

The New Station Casinos should help its workers prepare for retirement and begin to pay for its workers’ retirement pension, just like Strip employers do for their unionized employees.

At the New Station Casinos, workers should be free to decide for themselves whether they want to join a union, without threats, interference or punishment by management.

We are all part of this New Station Casinos. Now the worst is behind us, now the company is “much stronger,” don’t we all also deserve a raise, too?

Wall Street Stations

THEY’VE TAKEN THEIR SHARE...Station Casinos will tell you it’s time to celebrate now because it is coming out of bankruptcy soon. It is indeed time to celebrate for some people.

STATION EXECUTIVES will not have to give back the hundreds of millions of dollars they got from the 2007 buyout that caused the company to go bankrupt. And they will most likely keep their jobs even after the bankruptcy reorganization.

THEIR WALL STREET BACKERS — Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase — will not give back the hundreds of millions of dollars in interest payments they have collected from Station since the buyout. And, after the bankruptcy reorganization, they will own half the company and continue to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in interest from Station!

...IT’S OUR TURN NOW! WE WANT WHAT UNION CASINO WORKERS IN LAS VEGAS HAVE!

• GUARANTEED RAISES. We haven’t gotten a raise from Station Casinos for three years now. On the Strip, Union housekeepers got a total raise of over $1.20 per hour and Union food servers got more than $0.60 an hour since we got our last raise.
• GENEROUS HEALTH CARE PLAN. No paycheck deductions to cover you, your spouse, and your children through the largest network of providers in Las Vegas. Domestic partners covered. Pre-existing conditions covered. Includes dental, vision, and prescription benefits, with a free pharmacy. Even part-time workers are covered.
• GUARANTEED PENSION. No paycheck deductions. You’re paid a pension no matter how long you live. Benefits are paid for entirely by your employer and are guaranteed by the government. In addition, you can add to your retirement income by investing in your own 401(k).
• JOB SECURITY. The company cannot get rid of your job by replacing it with an outside company like Station did with its coffee shops and uniform rooms.

What Is Station Casinos Waiting For?

Why has Station Casinos not treated employees like you as well as it has treated its top executives and Wall Street banks? What are they waiting for?

STATION CASINOS HAS PAID THE FERTITTAS AND OTHER EXECUTIVES WELL.

In 2007, Station Casinos paid the Fertitta family and other top executives $660 million in a Wall Street-funded “buyout.” Top executives continue to be paid millions of dollars a year while the company has suffered billions in losses since 2007.

STATION CASINOS HAS PAID ITS WALL STREET BANKERS WELL.

The company borrowed from Wall Street to fund its 2007 buyout, paying millions in fees to its bankers and lawyers. And since 2007, it has paid its Wall Street creditors — primarily Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase — nearly $900 million in interest. The company has said that it will pay Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase at least another half a billion dollars over the next four years.

HERE’S WHAT STATION CASINOS HAS DONE FOR YOU:

Station Casinos has not given you a raise in three years. Union workers on the Strip have got big raises over the same period. Union housekeepers got a total raise of over $1.20 per hour and Union food servers got more than $0.60 an hour since you got your last raise.

Station Casinos stopped paying for your 401(k) match. Union workers on the Strip continue to enjoy a pension that is fully paid for by their employers.

Station Casinos raised your cost of healthcare. Union workers on the Strip still do not have to take anything out of their paychecks to pay for PPO health coverage for their families because the employers pay for it.

Station Casinos has subcontracted out hundreds of jobs to low-pay outside restaurant companies. Union workers on the Strip are protected by their contract against losing their jobs to subcontracting.

IT’S ABOUT TIME STATION CASINOS GAVE YOU A RAISE AND STARTED TREATING YOU WITH RESPECT!

Station Workers Go to the Company's Bankruptcy Hearings For the First Time

For the first time, hourly employees of Station Casinos attended the company’s bankruptcy proceedings in Reno last week.  Their presence was noted by the parties involved and it was the first time worker retention was a significant topic in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.  The workers are members of an Informal Committee of Station Employees that was formed several weeks ago to give hourly employees a voice in the bankruptcy proceeding involving Station Casinos, Inc.

“I joined the Committee because I want to make sure people understand how we will be affected by their decisions,” said Omar Mendoza, Food Server, Sunset Station Hotel & Casino.  “We have bills to pay, kids to feed, and we need to keep roofs over our heads. I want to make sure our jobs and benefits are protected. Las Vegas doesn’t need more people out of work, unable to pay their bills, losing their homes, and filing for bankruptcy.”

The Committee filed an objection on April 21, 2010 with the bankruptcy court challenging the company’s proposed reorganization plan, which is supported by two of its lenders, Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase. In its objection, the Committee cited several plan flaws, including its failure to meaningfully address worker retention.  The Committee also called on the Court to order the company to end its anti-union campaign, which could jeopardize a successful reorganization.  The company’s anti-union campaign has resulted in the filing of over 200 unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board.

“Until now, no one has spoken for Station Casinos employees in this case,” said the Committee’s legal counsel Richard G. McCracken.  “Given the certainty that there will be sweeping ownership changes at Station Casinos, we want the Court and the parties involved to hear from the company’s employees about what is happening to them, their concerns for the future, and the need for meaningful workforce retention provisions in any proposed reorganization plan.”

There is precedent for making workforce retention a key consideration in the Chapter 11 reorganization of a gaming company in Nevada.  In the Aladdin bankruptcy, the Court made worker retention a requirement for consideration of any bid to purchase the Las Vegas Strip resort casino.  Also, it is a standard practice in the Las Vegas gaming industry to retain the bulk of hourly workers in the event of a change in casino ownership, as a result of provisions in collective bargaining agreements between the Culinary and Bartenders unions and the majority of casino employers on the Las Vegas Strip and in the downtown.

Station workers at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno, May 4.

The Committee of employees is represented by the same law firm, McCracken, Stemerman & Holsberry, that represents the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, and Bartenders Union, Local 165.  The Committee was formed with the assistance of the unions, which are paying the Committee’s legal fees.

The next scheduled hearing in the case will be on May 27-28.