Approximately 20 police officers were called to the casino floor after 60 Union members sat around banks of slot machines and chanted for roughly two hours, as they were arrested one by one.

The demonstrators were protesting at the Santa Fe Hotel because negotiations for a union contract covering approximately 600 workers there have been unproductive, according to the Union. Santa Fe Hotel employees voted in 1993 to be represented by three Unions, led by the Culinary Union.

After failed legal appeals by the hotel, the Santa Fe was forced to bargain starting in late 1996. The Union said most workers have not received a raise in four years.

The Union also announced that on Sept. 1, 1998, Santa Fe Hotel agreed to settle government charges against it for illegally changing the terms and conditions of employment without negotiating with the Union. Santa Fe Hotel has agreed to pay employees back 100 percent of
their losses from these changes, and the case now enters the damages (or Compliance) phase.

The Union estimates that total damages could range between $500,000 and $1 million in this case.

Courtney Alexander, Culinary Union Research director, noted: "We settled our six-year, $20 million strike at the Frontier this year, and with the decks cleared, the Culinary Union is making resolution of the Santa Fe dispute our top priority."