Local Culinary Union 226 Continues Quest To Drain Clark County Taxpayers

Lawmakers Should Denounce Distasteful Union Boss Tactics

(October 31, 2013) –With Las Vegas Metro Police Stretched Thin, Union Thugs Are Diverting Attention Away From Critical Public Services

Las Vegas, NV – After cancelling protests over the last two weekends, the Local Culinary Union 226 plans to resume their assault on Clark County taxpayers and Las Vegas tourists starting tomorrow. Despite figures showing such protests cost Clark County taxpayers over $10,000 per week, the union plans to “provoke arrests” this weekend, further increasing the burden on the police department which is operating under strained resources and placing a sizeable financial burden on hardworking Clark County families everywhere.

“It’s clear union bosses care about nothing more than lining their own pockets or they wouldn’t be doing everything they can to hurt Clark County families,” said Ron Futrell, spokesman for the Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs (APJN). “Budgets have already been stretched thin and now taxpayers are being stuck with a bill so Las Vegas metro police can monitor and arrest labor financed protestors, and watch over union boss driven foul mouth thugs. That money could be better used to give relief to struggling Nevada families everywhere.”

Last year, the local Culinary Union took in over $27 million dollars in dues, more than $9 million of which were spent on high priced consultants and 55 union executives with six figure salaries. Despite spending nearly every penny of those dues, none of it went to reimburse taxpayers or the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for overtime costs associated with these protests. It has already been widely reported that “reduced staff has created a logistical challenge for the department as field officers face thousands of incoming 9-1-1 calls each day.” Showing no concern for public safety, labor bosses continue to deplete those already thin resources even further and put Clark County families at risk by taking police officers off regular duty all for the purpose of causing civil unrest and insulting visitors to Las Vegas.

“While Las Vegas metro police are forced to babysit paid union protestors just so they can insult tourists, 9-1-1 calls are getting harder to respond to and risking public safety,” continued Futrell. “Their careless disregard for the public clearly shows they have no regard for anyone but themselves and their six figure salaries. Once again, union leadership is only serving to hurt the very workers they claim to represent.”

Union executives have made repeated claims that protests outside of the Cosmopolitan have been “civil” and an “exercise of first amendment rights,” yet videos taken by APNJ show union bosses harassing and attempting to provoke tourists. This was confirmed in a Channel 8 News interview last week by Captain Robert Duvall of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department who stated, “They’re (union bosses) using different and what can be described as more aggressive tactics.”

This statement confirms what APNJ has repeatedly witnessed each week and is supported by voluminous video evidence. In light of this behavior, the APNJ recently sent a letter demanding the Chairman and Commissioner of Clark County Steve Sisolak and the Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson enforce Chapter 12.33 of the county Code. It states that it is unlawful for “any person” “to challenge another person to a fight,” “incite a disturbance” or “interfere with, annoy, accost, or harass any other person with conduct which by its nature would tend to incite a disturbance.”

To view the letter, click here.

BACKGROUND:

“Culinary Union Bosses Plan To Provoke Arrests”:

“More than 100 members of the Culinary Union plan to let Metro Police arrest them on the Strip for the second time this year in protest of stalled contract negotiations at the Cosmopolitan. Billed as an act of civil disobedience, the protest will take place between 5 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 1. The Culinary has not announced how its members plan to prompt the arrests. The arrests will mark the second such action since March 20, when 98 union protesters sat in the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard and blocked traffic. Metro officers wrapped their wrists in zip ties and loaded them onto a police bus.” (Ed Komenda, “Culinary Union Plans To Provoke Arrests At Upcoming Protest,” Vegas Inc., 10/25/13)

“Metro Police Working To Keep Up With 9-1-1 Calls:”

“According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, reduced staff has created a logistical challenge for the department as field officers face thousands of incoming 9-1-1 calls each day. When the 9-1-1 phone system was established, it gave people a fast, easy and direct way to reach police in an emergency. But as the years have gone by and calls for police aid have only increased – averaging 4,500 a day – Metro’s operational budget has gotten tighter.” (Fatima Rahmatullah, “Metro Police Working To Keep Up With 9-1-1 Calls,” News 3, 10/28/13)

About The Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs (APNJ):

APNJ is a project of the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI), whose mission is educate the public on issues related to workforce fairness, and to build greater public awareness of efforts that interfere with the good employer/employee relationships that most businesses enjoy. WFI has taken on similar efforts in other states to shine a spotlight on the questionable behavior union bosses engage in that usually hurts the very workers they represent.

The Workforce Fairness Institute is an organization committed to educating voters, employers, employees and citizens about issues affecting the workplace. To learn more, please visit: https://www.workforcefairness.com.

To schedule an interview with a Workforce Fairness Institute representative, please contact Lauren Tate at (202)-677-7060.

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