Culinary Union wins ruling against Fertitta brothers' casino empire at National Labor Relations Board

Bad news for the Fertitta brothers as the National Labor Relations board came down on the side of the Culinary Union and upheld a 2011 administrative judges' ruling that Station Casinos violated labor law in its attempt to prevent the Culinary Union from organizing its employees. Station Casinos is owned by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III, who are also majority owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Vegas Inc has more:

A three-member panel of the NLRB issued an order rejecting an appeal by Station and upholding the bulk of the findings of an administrative law judge, who in September 2011 found there had been 82 violations arising from events mostly in 2010.

The board ordered Station to offer to rehire two employees the board says were unlawfully fired for their union activities and to pay them back pay, though records show both workers have already been rehired.

The company was also ordered to make whole another worker for her loss of work opportunities due to her union activities and to remove from its files any reference to "unlawful discipline" imposed on two more employees.

The Culinary Union has made itself one of the UFC's most persistent foes, running a number of web sites attacking the promotion, putting out numerous press releases and complaining to courts, athletic commissions and the Federal Trade Commission about the UFC's practices.