Adelson Called to the Table
June 4, 2012 4:05 pm
Gambling magnate Sheldon Adelson’s luck suppressing his workers’ right to organize may be running out. As Matt Assad writes for the The Morning Call/Los Angeles Times:
“The National Labor Relations Board has ordered the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem to begin bargaining with its 130 security guards as a labor union. Pending an appeal to a federal court, Local 777 would become the first union in Las Vegas Sands’ $35-billion gaming empire.The NLRB ruling, dated Wednesday, says Sands engaged in unfair labor practices by refusing to bargain with the guards, and ordered casino officials to recognize that the guards are a union. “
As stated, the NLRB opinion confirms the bargaining power of Local 777, a union of security personnel at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, PA. Assad reports: “The guards in Bethlehem first asked to seek certification in May 2011 and voted in July to unionize. They called themselves Local 777, the so-called lucky numbers Sands uses in its address and phone number.”
Adelson, worth a reported 24.9 billion, sits at the head of a global gambling empire. Shares of Adelson’s company, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, have jumped 3700% since their recession lows, and his personal fortune is up 21.5 billion, due in part to its hugely profitable casinos in Macau and Singapore (pictured above). Adelson has built his fortune on the backs of unorganized labor, and his anti-union stance was integral to his support of former Republican Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich.
Adelson backed a Gingrich super PAC to the tune of 20 million dollars during that candidate’s unsuccessful run. From the New York Times profile on Adelson: “..the two men shared a conservative philosophy on matters important to Mr. Adelson’s businesses, including limiting the ability of labor unions to deduct money from members’ paychecks for political activities.” Adelson recently donated $250,000 to embattled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and has been meeting with presumed Republican Candidate Mitt Romney in recent day, and his dabbling in electoral politics is undoubtedly meant to curtail the inconvenience of bargaining with his workers.
Sands’ counsel will appeal the NLRB’s decision to federal appeals court in Washington D.C. Let’s hope the smart money is on 777.