Station Casinos must comply with a federal labour ruling requiring Red Rock Casino Resort Spa in Summerlin to recognise and bargain with Culinary Union after the Supreme Court of the United States rejected the company’s emergency request to suspend the order.
On 4 September, Chief Justice John Roberts denied Station’s application for a stay without providing a reason. The request followed a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which upheld a National Labor Relations Board finding that Red Rock had interfered with a fair union election held in late 2019.
The appeals court rejected Station’s request for a rehearing on 6 August and later refused a stay pending Supreme Court of the United States intervention on 24 August. Red Rock can still petition the court to hear the wider case, and the court could agree to do so. Until then, the NLRB order remains in effect.
The order requires Red Rock to recognise and bargain with Culinary Union when asked, publish notices informing employees of their rights and take other measures. Station said the ruling overturned the workforce’s vote against unionisation.
“The NLRB decision overturned the clear vote of Red Rock team members rejecting the Culinary Union,” Station said in a statement. “The decision prevents any company from granting benefits to its employees if it is aware of union interest in unionizing the company’s employees and nullifies the Red Rock team members’ vote to be union-free, all because Station Casinos treated its team members too well.”
Culinary Union did not comment.
The 2019 vote
The dispute centres on the timing of Station’s benefits programme and Culinary Union’s organising effort. On 19 November 2019, Station’s corporate leadership approved and announced an overhaul of benefits for its 14,000 employees across ten properties.
Two days later, Culinary Union petitioned to represent employees at Red Rock. The union already represented workers at seven other Station properties. Red Rock employees voted against unionisation the following month, by 627 votes to 534.
The NLRB and the appeals court found that Station had taken steps that prevented a fair and honest election. Station’s petition to the Supreme Court of the United States argued that the benefits rollout began before the union sought recognition and was not intended to deter organising.
Wider political dispute
The conflict has included public exchanges, complaints to Nevada regulators and multiple court cases. Culinary Union has expanded its influence elsewhere: the entire Las Vegas Strip is now unionised, while strikes in late 2023 and early 2024 helped secure new multi-year agreements with Wynn, Caesars and MGM.
Las Vegas Sands was another major non-union operator until the Venetian-Palazzo was sold to Apollo Global Management in 2021. Apollo ratified the property’s first union agreement in 2024.
Station is owned and operated by the Fertitta family, prominent Republican donors. Culinary Union generally supports Democratic and left-leaning candidates. Last month, US President Donald Trump held a rally at Red Rock, called the Fertittas a “beautiful family” and drew criticism from the union, which also opposed their support for Trump and Nevada Republican Governor Joe Lombardo.
