Talks with LV carpenters resume Monday

Southern Nevada contractors and a union representing nearly 7,000 carpenters will be back at the bargaining table Monday afternoon.

The Carpenters' Union contract expired at midnight Tuesday, but union members continue to work as long as negotiations are ongoing. A wildcat strike that was rumored for Wednesday did not happen.

"I'm trying to go around and get everybody's feel and run some numbers by them," said Mel Joseph of the United Contractors and Builders Association, the lead employer association in negotiations.

Both union and contractors representatives said workers were on the job Wednesday.

A Mandalay Bay project carpenter who requested anonymity had said Tuesday night a wildcat strike of major Strip projects would be staged Wednesday. The carpenters' displeasure was not aimed at construction companies or the hotel-casinos -- but at the union itself, he said.

Carpenters rejected an offer Sunday that would have given them a more than $5 raise in benefits and pay over four years. The anonymous carpenter said members wanted $6 over three years.

The current wage and benefits package amounts to about $29 per hour.

The union is negotiating with the United Contractors, the Nevada Contractors Association and Associated General Contractors as well as the Painting and Decorating Contractors Association.

Carpenter's Union organizer Jim Sala said union officials had met with workers at the big projects and no disruption was expected this week.

He would not comment on whether rank and file members would be allowed to vote on the newly negotiated contract.

Corporate officials for Mandalay Bay and the Venetian said this week they had work continuation agreements in place if the union called a strike. The Bellagio, being built by Mirage Resorts Inc., does not.

The laborers union approved a contract last week that will give members a $4.90 raise over four years, for a package totaling $30.09 by the last year of the agreement. Cement masons approved a pact Monday that will give them a $4.70 raise over four years, which would total $32.98 by the last year of the agreement.

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