Bluhm, union settle charges in Rivers Casino organizing drive

Billionaire real estate investor Neil Bluhm and Unite Here Local 1 have settled a series of charges over the union's drive to organize workers at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the state's most lucrative gambling hall.
Mr. Bluhm's Chicago-based company, Midwest Gaming & Entertainment LLC, which owns the casino near O'Hare International Airport, agreed to post notices at Rivers saying employees may choose to organize and join a union under federal law, according to a copy of the settlement.
The notices also say employees can choose not to participate in union efforts. Among other points, Midwest Gaming states in the notices it will not ask casino employees whether they support a union or threaten them with job loss if they do. The postings must remain up at the casino for 60 consecutive days, the settlement shows.
LAUNCHED DRIVE LAST YEAR
Best known for representing hotel workers, Chicago-based Local 1 launched a drive last year to unionize Rivers Casino, 3000 S. River Road. Rivers reported $418.7 in gross receipts in 2013, the most among the state's 10 casinos, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Local 1 levied a series of unfair-labor-practice charges against Midwest Gaming as part of the drive, saying the casino's management was intimidating workers about joining the union.
The notices “will, basically, require the casino not to interfere with employees' right to organize,” a union spokeswoman said.
She declined to discuss the status of the organizing drive, including whether the group will file to create a union through an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board or through “card check.” Under card check, an employer agrees to recognize and negotiate with a union without an election if at least 50 percent of its employees sign cards saying they want to organize.
'RESPECTS THE RIGHTS'
Rivers Casino noted in a statement it admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement and that it takes “great pride in our team and respects the rights of our Team Members to choose whether or not to be represented by a union.”
“We feel strongly that all Team Members should be able to make their choices in an environment that is free of harassment and intimidation,” the statement said. “So far, our Team Members have chosen to remain independent. That is their choice and their right.”
Local 1 is trying to organize the majority of the casino's approximately 1,443 workers, including cooks, attendants and bartenders. Last October, parking attendants and valets at the casino voted 13 to 5 to reject joining the Teamsters union, according to a labor board filing.