The Grit Beneath the Glitter--Tales from The Real Las Vegas (review)

Hardly a month goes by when Las Vegas isn't the site of a union conference, training workshops, or meetings. Images of union members strolling the Strip amid the noise of slot machines, bright lights and loud music might not make you think it is a likely place to rally for union power and labor solidarity. But in fact the strength of labor in Las Vegas was clearly demonstrated in 2002 when members of the Culinary Workers Union successfully won a five year contract that protected and strengthened worker health and welfare benefits, and also negotiated significant and historic workload reductions for thousands of housekeepers. The Transit Union workers also conducted work actions that year to demand pay increases. And in November 2002, the people of Las Vegas elected a union staff person to represent them in the Nevada State Assembly.

The Grit Beneath the Glitter—Tales from The Real Las Vegas is an easy- to-read resource for labor students and union leaders to understand the historical, political, and social context of how Las Vegas came to be one of the country's major union towns. Rothman and Davis compile a series of articles that trace the meager beginnings of Las Vegas as a tiny Union Pacific Railway repair station to a period when rambling cowboy style gambling joints, brothels, and slick casinos became a haven for crime, political intrigue, and corrupt union racketeering. In the 1980s, these shady images were carefully eliminated and replaced with fantasy getaways that are family friendly. Corporate dollars built huge theme park casinos/malls and mega hotels replacing the previous small individual-owned casino/bar. The authors document the far-ranging impacts of these changes, relying on a good balance of research articles, personal essays and interviews.

Rothman and Davis's book is a good source for learning how corporate power can influence and control the state's political landscape. While the Nevada gaming industry reaps huge profits, it also enjoys the lowest gaming tax structure in the U.S. At the same time, the state's working and poor people pay high sales taxes but are denied access to decent schools and public services like police and fire protection. In addition, Medicaid and workers' compensation are insufficient, air quality is poor, and the population constantly faces a crisis in water shortage. The stories of black youth, assaulted by police during a picnic where they were trying to forge peace between gang members, and the stories of the women—waitresses or showgirls—many of whom are single mothers trying to make a decent living, convey the pain of discrimination in Las Vegas.

Among the twenty-one articles are three that describe the rise to power of the Culinary Workers Union Local 126, an affiliate of the Hotel Employees Restaurant Employees International Union. One documents how strategic analysis, creative leadership, and an energetic and organized union membership challenged and took on the gaming industry to secure decent union representation for their union members. The other two, "Class Struggle in Oz" and "Inside the Glitter -Lives of Casino Workers," bring the struggle alive by putting a name and a face to the story. Readers, especially those interested in the resurgence of labor, will be inspired and hopeful after reading these chapters of the book.