Hospitality Industry News

"If voting mattered, they wouldn't let us do it." — Travus T. Hipp, 1982

International labor boycott of Blue Man Group announced
Subway settles case of employee illegally fired for HIV status
Las Vegas CityLife 12-29-2006

Nevada lawmaker wants study of immigrant economic impact
Recent Texas research showed huge benefit
Las Vegas Sun 12-27-2006

Gomorrah South judge practices judicial dentistry and removes teeth from voter-passed public smoking ban

Blue Man Group's dispute with unions spills onto Venetian sidewalk

TIPSY TIP TRUCE TIPPING TOWARD TOPPLING

National Labor Relations Board issues complaint against Wynn for unfair labor practices against casino dealers
Las Vegas Review-Journal 1-4-2007

Another tip-sharing protest vs. Wynn, but his own dealers won't show, fearing retaliation
Las Vegas Review-Journal 12-30-2006

LV casino dealers demonstrate against Wynn tip skim

BARBWIRE Stiffed on the Strip
Wynn pokes a hole in a Picasso after sticking it to his dealers
From Las Vegas CityLife

Only a matter of time before tip-pooling spreads to other jobs?

Dealers suing Wynn hire nationally prominent labor lawyer

Las Vegas Sun Editorial: IRS commissioner promises to make good on the agency's promise to tip earners

Workers get break on IRS audits

IRS to honor agreement with tip earners
Culinary Union remains skeptical of IRS promise

NO RETALIATION: Dealers who sued hotel over tip policy are welcome at their jobs according to Wynn resort management

Tips and taxes: Dealers sue Wynn over new tip sharing policy

Columnist Cory Farley: A tip is a reward, not a bribe

Reno Gazette-Journal Editorial: Tip-sharing legal, but is it fair?

Gov. Guinn's labor commissioner says Wynn tips policy is legal

IRS, workers square off at tip poker

Dealers fuming over Wynn tip taking

Steve Wynn: Tip taker

Reno Gazette-Journal Editorial: Take a look at casino tip sharing

JOHN L. SMITH: Angry dealers know their jobs teeter on casinos' bottom lines

Tip switch called "ironclad"

Dealers baffled by order to share tips

Las Vegas Sun columnist Jeff Simpson breaks down the reorganization of the pay scale among employees on the casino floor at Wynn Las Vegas, which Steve Wynn called 'upside down'

Columnist JOHN L. SMITH: Dealers angry, but Wynn's tip-sharing change might spread

Wynn alters rules on tips

TIP INCOME DISPUTE: IRS audits anger casino workers

Nevada Governor: A deal is a deal

Here's a tip: IRS might not honor deal
Culinary Union claims double-cross in toke-reporting program
By Jeff German

---

In search of the mythological(?) $100k a year valet parker

Questions raised about FBI methods of obtaining data on resort guests

State minimum wage proposal pits unions against restaurant group

Health Care and Workplace:
Tip earners at center of national policy debates

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith: Unwillingness to get behind homeless trust fund is bad business

Freedom of speech for strippers stifled, freedom to smoke for smokers suspenseful, freedom to sexually harass at NDOT nixed

Democrats, labor say GOP bill will hurt tip earners
Las Vegas Review-Journal 8-3-2006
Jim Day Cartoon
Sen. Reid, Culinary Union denounce sham GOP minimum wage bill
Las Vegas Sun 8-2-2006
MORE ON MINIMUM WAGE

BREAKING NEWS: Culinary/PLAN Reno initiative petition fails
Not enough signatures in campaign vs. Station Casinos

ROAD WARRIOR: Old Vegas lives in shady taxicab practices
SAVE THE CABBIES WAR ROOM

Homeowners say they are being pressured to sell
Station Casinos buying property in Las Vegas Strip area

Reno Hilton settles suit
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on July 18, 2006, that it settled for $125,000 a case against the Reno Hilton involving four women who reported sexual harassment, including one who was badly beaten by female coworkers.

How to make sure long-simmering efforts to unionize your hotel finally boil over: Reno Peppermill Hotel-Casino fires two Latina U.S. citizens for immigration rally protest

The oppressed become the oppressors,
the reservation becomes the plantation
Tribes and Republican congressmen want Indian casinos exempt from National Labor Relations Act
Attempt to overturn 2004 court decision

HOWARD DEAN HEADLINES NEVADA LABOR POLITICAL CONVENTION

A DAY WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS: Las Vegas Strip casinos and Culinary Union push petition alternative to MayDay walkout

Sex workers demonstrate for equal rights and protections
at national convention in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Review-Journal 7-14-2006
Sluts are people, too
Las Vegas CityLife 7-20-2006

     Reno trade unionistas file casino corporate welfare remedy initiative

Las Vegas Sun op-ed: Nevada Culinary Union leader D. Taylor calls the national AFL-CIO split a wakeup call for a barely visible national labor movement

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING...AND TRACKING
Harrah's-Rio's use of radio tags on servers causes concern

BARBWIRE: DIVORCED BEDMATES
National trauma of AFL-CIO split could have been avoided right here in Nevada
EXCLUSIVE: A story never reported until now
7-31-2005

Cabbies: The Most Dangerous Job in Nevada
How many more have to die before in-car video is mandated?
A NEW NevadaLabor.com War Room

Harrah's acquisition of Imperial Palace gives the casino behemoth room to grow and dominates the choicest real estate in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip

TO NEWS INDEX
BACK TO TOP OF THIS PAGE

NEVADALABOR.COM SITE MAP

BACK TO HOME PAGE

Follytix 2006

Columnist Erin Neff: Corruption was the big 2006 Nevada political story
John L. Smith and Steve Sebelius agree

Follytix 2008: Vilsack visits Vegas

2008 Petition? Nevada in anti-affirmative action group's sights

Gomorrah South judge practices judicial dentistry and removes teeth from voter-passed public smoking ban

LAS VEGAS SUN: In LV, those who crossed labor were losers

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL EDITORIAL: Legislature was the big election loser
Public had to decide on matters legislature refused to act on

Update: Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006, 12:41 p.m. PST — The Mahatma sez to bring a broom and camera to your polling place and he'll make you famous. Go to MichaelMoore.com.
Be well. Raise hell.

Update: Monday, Nov. 6, 2006, 1:35 p.m. PST — Killer investigative reporter Greg Palast says the fix is already in. Read How They Stole the Midterm Election and what you you can do about it.

NEW BARBWIRES
The wages of Raggio — Payback time
Special web edition 11-6-2006
Enough, already: Sen. Maurice Washington's outright lying to the Sparks Tribune is the extremely ultimatest, worst best damnedest very-dead-last freakin' straw!
SPARKS TRIBUNE 11-5-2006

From Poor Denny's Almanac
In 1904, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate
was criticized for opposing injured worker insurance
102 years later, nothing's changed. That's conservative!
Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, would understand

Sparks GOP senator fails in attempt to censor opposition TV

SHORT AND NOT SO SWEET
All the reasons you'll ever need to vote for John Emerson
over madcap Sen. Maurice Washington
including Washington's current move to place intelligent design theocracy
into Nevada schools (Are we back in Kansas, Toto?)
Reno News & Review 10-26-2006

SO MUCH FOR NON-PARTISAN LOCAL FOLLYTIX
DEMOCRATS FORM AN OPPOSITION BLOC vs. RENO CITY COUNCIL INCUMBENTS

NEW BARBWIRES
The Lady in the Red Dress
The Barbwire Nevada Day classic
Stiffed on the Strip
From Las Vegas CityLife
Reasons for not voting early and not voting at all
Plus: Response to a reader regarding ballot questions
Jim Gibbons v. Dina Titus on cutting Nevada retirement benefits
See and hear them for yourself.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., named "worst person in the world"
on MSNBC's The Countdown with Keith Olbermann
(and not for the reasons which first come to mind)

A LITTLE POLITICAL CSI ON KTVN TV-2
AFTER THE NEVADA GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE OF OCT. 17, 2006
Oct. 18, 2006

Labor leader files IRS charges against Sparks state senator

GUB GLUB GLUB

NEW POLL: Senate race close, guv's a tossup

RENO (Sept. 25) — State Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, recovered from a fox paw at the beginning to wipe the floor with Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., in Monday's gubernatorial debate at the University of Nevada-Reno. Stay tuned to the Barbwire for details and fallout. For well-rounded coverage, read the following stories by experienced journalists, but watch the Barbwire for some new wrinkles.
Carson City Nevada Appeal's coverage of the debate
Reno Gazette-Journal: Gibbons-Titus in personal slugfest
Titus slams Gibbons' record, Gibbons says she's an expensive date
The Daily Sparks Tribune's take on the story
All of the above appeared on 9-26-2006
Ralston: What they said doesn't matter unless regurgitated as smear TV spots
Las Vegas Sun 9-27-2006
Voters deserve the truth — Titus and Gibbons advocated lots of programs in debate but gave short shrift about how to pay for them and left many others unmentioned
Reno Gazette-Journal editorial 9-27-2006
Tough decisions needed: Candidates must talk about burgeoning federal deficit
Despite a claim by gubernatorial candidate and Congressman Jim Gibbons at Monday night's debate that Republicans are cutting the federal deficit, the budget of the U.S. is out of control, unsustainable and about to explode.
Reno Gazette-Journal editorial 9-28-2006
Erin Neff: Gibbons won, but little was settled
Jane Ann Morrison: Titus won the battle of the boo birds

POLL: Jim Gibbons (R) leads Dina Titus (D) by 9 points and is beating her in Las Vegas and among female voters statewide

Health care benefits for newly hired state workers divide gubernatorial candidates Titus and Gibbons

Like Kansas and Arizona, can Nevada elect a female Democratic governor?

Wall Street Journal poll shows dead heats
in Nevada races for governor and U.S. Senate

Las Vegas Sun reporter, probably a flatlander, writes a long piece on Titus v. Gibbons and their differences — without even considering the glaring similarities between the gubernatorial nominees
Las Vegas Sun 8-17-2006
Reno Gazette-Journal does the same story on Aug. 20. Compare.

Wal-Mart telling its workers how to vote

Carpenters picket downtown Reno condo conversion
Anti-union astroturf media campaign's Wal-Mart links exposed

Early presidential primary will bring Nevada clout in national elections

Angle may ask for recount of congressional race
Sharron Angle of Reno said Wednesday that she is considering asking for a recount after losing by 428 votes Tuesday night in the statewide 2nd Congressional District's Republican primary.
Reno Gazette-Journal 8-17-2006
New York-based PAC provided almost all of Angle's funding and came close to buying its own Nevada congressman

For election results, go to these links to Nevada newspapers & blogs

Wal-Mart targets Nevada for "voter education"
Eye on Election, Democrats Run as Wal-Mart Foe

Washoe County voters turned away at polls
K-Mart Taxes Groceries
BARBWIRE special web edition for the Ides of August
Updated with dispatches from the trenches 8-17-2006

Sun Valley Marine dies in Iraq
An 18-year-old Marine from Sun Valley died Thursday while engaged in combat operations in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Friday.
Reno Gazette-Journal 8-12-2006
BARBWIRE: Roll Over and Play Dead
Daily Sparks Tribune 8-13-2006
Henderson soldier killed in Iraq Aug. 9
Associated Press 8-15-2006

LATEST POLITICAL HOT COPY AND NEW POLLS

DONKEYKONGS DECIDE TO DENOUNCE
Connecticut Yankee Loses His Ass.
Lieberman responds with rump movement.
New York Times 8-9-2006
Free registration may be required
Lieberman gets spit out:
Democrats must advance firm positions
Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial 8-10-2006

Furriners from New Hampshire and flatlanders from Iowa trash Nevada as not ready for primary time
Politics for white people just like the founding fathers wanted it
Las Vegas Sun Washington Bureau 8-8-2006

Yuk 'em!
Comedians led by Lewis Black and satirical publications such as The Onion (just bought by the owners of CBS and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) have supplanted the Democratic Party in responding to the raucus, racist, ridiculously reactionary right. Cool.
Las Vegas Sun 7-23-2006

Yuk 'em, Part Deux
BARBWIRE BLAST FROM THE PAST
Columnist CORY FARLEY: Time to bring back NAGPAC?
Reno Gazette-Journal 8-1-2006

Redress vs. Undress: High-profile petitions rife with potentially unintended consequences and furriner's money

Wide-ranging November ballot questions explained

Nevada Supremes schedule hearings on ballot question questions

Initiative PAC money detailed

Political Writer ERIN NEFF: Money backing tax and condemnation initiatives isn't from Nevada
The only thing green in the grass-roots efforts behind two statewide ballot initiatives is the flow of cash from a New York City millionaire. His name is Howard Rich…