No Pause: Red Rock Casino Must Bargain With Culinary Union

The US Supreme Court has rejected Red Rock Casino’s emergency request to temporarily block a lower court order requiring the Las Vegas property to recognize and bargain with Culinary Union Local 226. No to Emergency Application Chief Justice John Roberts denied the emergency application on Friday, September 4. Red Rock, which is wholly owned by Station Casinos LLC, had asked the Supreme Court to stay a ruling requiring the casino to comply with a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) bargaining order while the company seeks further review. The decision follows an August 31 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The appeals court ordered Red Rock to recognize and bargain in good faith with the Culinary Union and to post notices informing employees of their rights under federal labor law. Station Casinos said it will comply with the court order while continuing to challenge the underlying NLRB decision. “While Station Casinos will comply with any court order, we continue to object to the National Labor Relations Board decision,” a company spokesman said. Dispute Stems from 2019 Union Election The dispute stems from a union election at Red Rock Casino in December 2019, when employees voted against union representation, but the NLRB later concluded that Station Casinos had interfered with the process by introducing improved employee benefits shortly before the election. The company has argued that the benefits were part of a broader strategy that began before the Culinary Union sought to represent Red Rock employees. In its Supreme Court filing, Station Casinos said the improved benefits program was aimed at strengthening its workforce across its 10 Las Vegas properties, denying that it stook for a an attempt to influence the Red Rock vote. According to the company’s filing, the benefits rollout began on November 19, 2019. Two days later, the union representing workers at seven other Station Casinos properties filed petitions to to represent certain Red Rock employees. The election, held about a month later, saw the union lose the vote, followed by the NLRB pursuing unfair labor practice allegations, claiming that the timing of the benefit improvements affected the election in an unlawfull manner. Two years later, in 2022, the NLRB established that it would not be reasonable to expect a fair election to take place at a company property, given the alleged interference. Ultimately, the agency issued a bargaining order asking Red Rock to recognize the union despite the employees’ vote. The order is based on the Supreme Court’s 1969 decision in N.L.R.B. v. Gissel Packing Co., which established circumstances in which the NLRB can require an employer to bargain with a union even without a successful union election, known as Gissel orders. No Success for Red Rock Red Rock tried to challenge the NLRB decision in federal court but, so far, to no avail. The D.C. Circuit denied the company’s petition for review in June and granted enforcement of the bargaining order. The full appeals court denied a request for rehearing on August 6. The D.C. Circuit also rejected Red Rock’s request on August 24 to stay the mandate while the company pursued Supreme Court review. Station Casinos then turned to the Supreme Court, arguing that the mandate should be paused because it effectively overrides what the company described as a clear vote by Red Rock employees against union representation.