Well, It's a Start

Republican Contributor, Casino Mogul, and Lawn Gnome Sheldon Adelson

For the first time ever, employees at one of Sheldon Adelson's casinos have joined a union:

When Sheldon Adelson’s casino empire opened a new branch in 2009 on the grounds of the old Bethlehem Steel mill in Pennsylvania, the interior designers played up the link to faded industrial glory.

The gaming floor drips with lights the color of liquified iron ore. There’s a Steelworks Buffet & Grill, and the late-night lounge is called Molten.

But there was another bit of Bethlehem Steel’s legacy that the casino company might not have counted on: labor unions.

The ratification of a new union contract by security guards at the Sands Bethlehem Casino on Wednesday night marked the first time that a workforce within Adelson’s global empire, the Las Vegas Sands Corp, had successfully unionized, despite years of efforts by the Culinary Workers’ union and others in Las Vegas.

Security employees at Sands Bethlehem voted 70-6 in favor of a contract that gives 146 workers an 8% wage increase, and that sets up a seniority system and grievance process. The vote was the result of five years of work by organizers and a year of negotiating between the Sands Corp and the Security Police Fire Professionals of America.

Adelson is one of the most vociferous union opponents in the US, and I hope that this leads to more of the same for him.