Unions gunning for MMA fighters

UFC’s Las Vegas nemesis, Culinary Workers Union Local 226, is joining Teamsters Local 986 of South El Monte, Calif. for an “initiative” Thursday to organize UFC’s 574 MMA fighters.

It’s the latest jab at UFC by the culinary union, which wants to bring workers at Las Vegas-based Station Casinos into Local 226. UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta is a board member at Station Casinos; his brother, Frank, is CEO.

Local 226 was also successful in applying political pressure in the New York State Legislature, which has not legalized MMA fights despite UFC’s intense lobbying.

“All workers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity,” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of Local 226, the largest union in Las Vegas with 55,000 members. “Housekeepers, kitchen workers, and tens of thousands of other workers in Las Vegas have stood up together to fight for an opportunity to provide for their families. There is no reason UFC fighters cannot do the same.”

Arguello-Kline added, “Our unions can bring more tools and resources to the table, including our relationships with other professional athletes’ unions. Mixed martial arts play a big part in the success.”

But a UFC statement issued Thursday afternoon blasted the notion of the unions organizing UFC fighters, arguing it was, “the newest brazen tactic in a failing effort to organize culinary workers at a Las Vegas casino.”

The UFC statement also said, “It (is) extremely duplicitous that the same labor union that has spent years demeaning UFC athletes, denouncing the sport of mixed martial arts, and doing everything possible to keep MMA out of New York, is now claiming to care about the interests of athletes in the UFC.”

Chris Griswold, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 986, one of the largest Teamsters locals in the country with 17,000 members in Southern California and Nevada, countered that UFC fighters who approached the union are looking for a stronger voice and resources. Local 986 has about 3,000 members in Las Vegas.

Griswold said this is not an attention-grabbing gimmick or a slap at Station Casinos.

“The UFC fighters are the ones who approached us because they have their own struggles with the same people,” he said.

Teamsters Local 986 and Culinary Local 226 have several joint organizing projects in Las Vegas, including the Station Casinos organizing campaign, one of the largest private-sector organizing drives in the country.

Contact Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Find him on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel.