ASSOCIATED PRESS Members of the Culinary and Bartenders unions handed out "On Strike" signs to replace "Informational Picket" signs in front of the Golden Gate Casino in downtown Las Vegas, as the unions went on strike yesterday.

Downtown Las Vegas
casino workers on strike

Contract talks fail
at the Golden Gate hotel

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By Lisa Snedeker
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS >> Marathon negotiations produced new contracts for most downtown hotels, but union workers at the city's oldest hotel-casino went on strike yesterday after talks broke down.

Other union workers learned they'd be without jobs after the Western Hotel & Bingo Parlor announced it was closing.

Some 165 maids, bartenders, bellmen and food servers at the Golden Gate hotel walked off their jobs at 6 p.m. Las Vegas time yesterday, hours after representatives for other downtown properties had agreed to new five-year contracts with Culinary Local 226 and Bartender's Local 165.

"The owner hasn't made a contract offer, so the workers feel they have no alternative but to go on strike," said Glen Arnodo, Culinary's political director. "These are long-term employees who aren't about to work without health care and pension or go without wage increases."

Golden Gate owner Mark Brandenburg said he's disappointed that the committee made the decision to strike without the opportunity to talk directly with the workers given the difficulty of the economic issues.

"We hoped they wouldn't hold out this artificial deadline for us," he said.

Saying that historically the Golden Gate has been the last among the downtown properties to sign a contract because it's the smallest, Brandenburg said he needed more time to analyze the numbers.

"The core issue is that they want us to accept the union contract and I've offered them our health plan (instead)," he said. "There is a serious difference in cost."

The majority of downtown hotel-casinos avoided a walkout by about 5,000 union workers by agreeing to a compromise deal that will cost operators about a third less than Las Vegas Strip operators agreed to in May.