Letter: Venetian executive has different view

What Greenwald fails to mention is how conscientious Sheldon Adelson was prior to the Sands closure. The truth is, Adelson closed the Sands early, at a huge personal expense, so others could search for jobs at the soon-to-open Monte Carlo megaresort. He forfeited millions of dollars of income -- a small sacrifice so others could find new jobs. He even hired job-placement professionals to help with this effort.

And in an act that would make his father proud, Adelson reached into his own pockets to offer a multimillion dollar severance package to former Sands employees, paying them up to one full year of salary. He offered severance when there was no requirement to do so.

Knowing full well the Venetian project would take three years to open its doors, Adelson did all he could to give employees at that time a chance to find work at other casinos.

As the Venetian looks toward its April opening, all former employees of the Sands are welcome to apply for jobs. To help accommodate them, the Venetian provided special times during December.

These four days gave former Sands employees a "front of the line" opportunity to fill-out an application. In our pursuit to find the best employees, we have been swamped by more than 103,000 calls to date to our job line for 4,000 positions.

Former Sands employees who are hired at the Venetian will be offered a better pay and benefits package than was ever negotiated for them by the union when they worked at the Sands.

As a matter of fact, the Venetian will match 150 percent of what otherwise would have been paid in union dues through our 401(k) program. It will turn the $390 that is typically paid as union dues into nearly $1,000 for retirement -- that's how much we believe our employees should be given the right to choose whether they should be represented by a union.

William P. Weidner, President and chief operating officer, Venetian hotel-casino

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