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disrupting business as usual. Moreover, under conditions of labor shortage, which obtained at
several crucial moments, workers gained even more power as employers had fewer alternatives for
getting the skilled labor they needed. Maxey tried to neutralize this advantage by deliberately
generating a huge pool of job applicants for far fewer jobs, but in the end he could only keep
workers—and keep them non-union—by matching the industry’s prevailing union wage and
benefits, which ultimately proved too costly. These local labor market characteristics, combined with
the leverage opportunities presented by the industry’s expansion, have enabled the union thus far to
win every effort it has made for card check agreements. In addition to all these factors, the union
and the employers are enmeshed in a network of political relationships that have given Culinary
further leverage over the industry.
VI. Political action: “Demonstrating what the union can do”
Added to the mix of factors that helped Local 226 win its breakthrough card check
agreement in 1989 was a political dynamic. Specifically, the gaming industry wanted—needed—the
union’s help legislatively in Washington. “Historically, politically they have ruled here in Nevada, but
in Washington at that time…they did not have a presence. And they turned to the union to help
them,” explained Arnodo. “We certainly offered our help, but in exchange for that we said we
wanted card check neutrality.”
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The Review-Journal, in its three-part feature on the 1989 settlement
emphasizes the political component above all others. The newspaper reported that two years prior
to the landmark agreement industry executives and union leaders had begun working together
politically, and that that effort had laid the groundwork for the more cooperative relationship that
emerged between the union and the industry in 1989. Specifically, the RJ related a chance encounter
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Arnodo, interview
Convention