LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Two former employees who worked at the Wynn in Las Vegas are accusing Wynn Resorts of retaliation and directing managers to spy on employees.
WATCH | Senior reporter Mary Kielar spoke with both employees about the labor complaints:
Allegations stem from the belief that employees were fired in retaliation for their support for unionizing, a release from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 501 said.
Documents obtained by Channel 13 confirm the complaints are filed with the National Labor Relations Board, as the allegations, if true, are a violation of the National Labor Relations Act, a law passed in the U.S. in 1935.
Local 501, a union representing engineers, helped the two former employees file their complaints.
“The allegations that Wynn is systematically spying on workers to interfere with their right to unionize is incredibly troubling,” said Jose Soto, vice president and director of organizing at the union.
The two former employees, Napco Sharma and Randall Crank, spoke with Channel 13 Senior Reporter Mary Kielar about what led them to file complaints with the NLRB.
“I was terminated because of my union activities and organizing to bring the union in," Sharma said in the case questionnaire.
“We’ve been trying to organize for years,” he told Channel 13, adding that every time they got close to doing it, the company would “figure a way out of it and they do something and they discipline people and fire people and people start to get scared of talking about it.”
Crank was a manager before he was fired.
“In our management meetings, on several occasions, they would ask us if we’d heard from the unions ... of the guys talking about the unions,” he said. “They wanted us to surveil their activities pretty much.”
The Wynn responded to the filings in a statement to Channel 13:
"We strongly deny these allegations. They are unsubstantiated claims and we are confident that once the facts are reviewed, they will be found to be without merit."
In the meantime, those keeping an eye on complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board said it’s a process that may take a long time, but it’s one each worker has the right to take part in.
“It’s absolutely an important part for workers to exercise their right to organize. That when they feel their rights are being violated, to be able to feel like they can come forward and bring these cases and bring these charges to the NLRB,” explained Aurelia Glass with The Center for American Progress.
