SPECIAL NOTICE Las Vegas-Based Casino and Hotel Employees

Bosses of the UNITE-HERE affiliated Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 are about to order employees of many downtown Las Vegas casinos to go on strike. According to news reports, the hotels and casinos to be struck are the D Las Vegas, the Plaza Hotel and Casino, the Las Vegas Club and Casino, Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel, the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, and the Four Queens Hotel and Casino. Employees should contact the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation for information about their legal rights concerning the scheduled strike.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO WORK DURING THE STRIKE READ ALL OF THIS SPECIAL NOTICE BEFORE RETURNING TO WORK – IT MIGHT SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!

Union bosses’ call for a strike raises serious concerns for employees who believe there is much to lose if they comply with union bosses’ dictates. Employees can contact the Foundation to learn how they can avoid fines and other vicious union discipline for continuing to report to work to support themselves and their families.
Employees have the right to rebuff union strike demands under federal labor law and Nevada’s popular Right to Work law, but it is important that you read the following before you do so.

You should learn about your rights from independent sources and should not rely on what self-interested union officials tell you. For over four decades, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has worked in the courts to expand and protect the rights of individual employees in such situations. It is the nation’s premier organization exclusively dedicated to providing free legal assistance to employee victims of forced unionism abuse.

Casino and hotel employees should know they have the following rights:

1) You have the right to resign your membership in the union. If you don’t support this union, you can send the union a letter resigning your membership.

2) You have the right to go to work and do your job even if the union bosses order a strike. Union officials can (and often do) fine actual union members who work during a strike, but they cannot fine or discipline nonmembers. So, you should seriously consider resigning BEFORE you return to work during a strike, which is the only way to avoid these union fines and discipline. See Union Discipline and Employee Rights. Your resignation letter must be postmarked THE DAY BEFORE you return to work, or be hand delivered BEFORE you actually return to work.

3) You also have the right to revoke your dues check-off and stop allowing the union hierarchy to collect money from your paycheck every week. You can send letters to the union and your employer revoking your authorization to have union dues deducted from your paycheck.

4) If you wish to eject an unaccountable union hierarchy from your workplace, you have the right to sign a decertification petition to obtain a secret ballot election to do so. See Decertification Election.

A sample letter for employees who wish to resign their union membership and revoke their dues check-off is here.

NOTE: If possible, use certified mail, return receipt requested, and save copies of your letters and the return receipt to prove delivery. If you hand deliver a resignation and/or dues deduction revocation, make sure that you have a reliable witness to the delivery and keep a copy of the letter. In our experience, it is not uncommon for angry and dishonest union officials to pretend they did not actually receive resignations and initiate disciplinary proceedings against non-striking workers anyway.

Go to About Your Legal Rights: Private Sector Employee to learn more about your rights.