Bickering out of hand for Station, Culinary

If this were a classroom, Station Casinos and the Culinary union would be sent to the principal’s office.

These children have gotten way too disruptive.

Station Casinos launched its latest salvo against Culinary Local 226 last week, saying in a new round of print and television ads that the union, in an obsessive effort to organize a large chunk of the company’s 13,000 employees, is killing jobs and hurting Las Vegas.

Almost a year ago, Stations Casinos began a multimillion dollar advertising campaign to rebuild its image and win back loyal customers after nearly two years of budget cutbacks and a bankruptcy court administered reorganization.

The company emerged intact with a new ownership structure and a more manageable balance sheet minus some $4 billion of debt.

Station Casinos set out on Super Bowl weekend with a simple message, “We Love Locals,” delivered by hundreds of its employees with a whimsical flair set to the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love.”

It worked.

With a cashier tossing money around, cocktail servers and dealers promising fun times, a cook guaranteeing tasty omelets, and a security officer playfully showing off his handcuffs, Station Casinos returned to its roots.

However, the company saw a need to respond to a relentless stream of attacks by the Culinary union.

In September, an administrative law judge ruled the National Labor Relations Board could hear 83 claims of unfair labor practices against the Station Casinos (out of an original 400 allegations).

The Culinary has since used the ruling as a sledgehammer.

Union representatives have tried to scare away business from Station Casinos properties by picketing the company’s vendors, asking entertainers not to perform at the company’s venues and challenging the business practices of Deutsche Bank AG, which owns 25 percent of the casino operator.

Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is majority owned by Station Casinos founders Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta, is the union’s primary punching bag.

Last month, the Las Vegas Sun reported that Culinary members harassed Zappos.com CEO and perceived downtown savior Tony Hsieh while he was dining at a Fremont Street restaurant. The reason? Zappos does business with Station Casinos-owned Green Valley Ranch Resort, which is near his company’s current Henderson headquarters.

If that tactic was part of an orchestrated campaign, it was idiotic.

Apparently, Station Casinos had enough. Company executives view the Culinary’s continued efforts as corporate harassment and character assassination.

Last fall, Station Casinos altered its message to highlight its casinos as great places to work. Hispanic employees talked about the company helping with citizenship efforts, home ownership and building a career, without being told to do so by the Culinary.

Last week, a Station Casinos employee charged the union with “trying to kill jobs, hurting Las Vegas, even in this economy.”

More attack ads are on the way, but both sides should stop the name calling.

Most customers are oblivious to what all the fuss is about. Last year, a Wall Street analyst familiar with the locals gaming market suggested maybe two-thirds of Station Casinos’ customers had no idea the company was operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Those who did — based on the phone calls and emails I received just after the March 2010 filing — were concerned about just one thing: Would they lose their accumulated Boarding Pass customer loyalty points in the reorganization? (The answer was no).

Station Casinos needs to return to the messaging points and business model that wins back customers.

Meanwhile, the Culinary needs to forget this white whale and concentrate attention elsewhere. Las Vegas is growing tired of the union’s staged protests for television cameras.

If the Culinary couldn’t organize Station Casinos employees in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings, how does it expect to win them over now? The company hired another 1,000 workers last year.

Culinary leaders should focus their efforts on renewing contracts with Strip resorts that cover roughly 50,000 members. The contracts expire in June and it’s clear the upcoming negotiation with hotel companies could become contentious.

It’s time for the children to stop fighting. Or at least be placed in timeout.

Howard Stutz’s Inside Gaming column appears Sundays. He can be reached at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. He blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/stutz. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.