Station Casinos hires Culinary union advocate

Station Casinos, which for years has waged a vicious battle with the Culinary union, announced Friday that it hired one of the labor group’s strongest advocates.

Mike Sloan joins Fertitta Entertainment as a senior vice president of government relations. He brings more than 20 years of experience to the job as one of the gaming industry’s premier political operatives, fundraisers and consultants.

Sloan’s union experience is vast. He served for years as an employer trustee of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union Health and Welfare Fund and the Local 226 Culinary and Bartenders Pension Plan. He was a key player in numerous union negotiations, having previously worked as senior vice president and general counsel for Mandalay Resort Group (formerly Circus Circus Enterprises).

The Culinary has been trying unsuccessfully to unionize 13,000 workers at Station’s 18 valley casinos for more than a decade, with the fight intensifying in recent years. Station Casinos has accused the union of an ongoing campaign of harassment.

Union members claim the casino group has mistreated Latino workers and violated dozens of federal labor laws. An administrative law judge recently dismissed a majority of the charges, including the most severe — ethnic discrimination. But allegations of interrogation, surveillance and firing of workers involved in the union drive remain. About 80 charges have been forwarded to the National Labor Relations Board.

Station executives did not elaborate on Sloan’s specific job duties.

In addition to his work with Mandalay, Sloan served for years on the board of the Nevada Resort Association, including one term as chairman, and was appointed by two governors to the Citizen Advisory Committee on Tax Policy. He also was elected Las Vegas city attorney and twice appointed a state senator.

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