Wayne Newton and Local 369

In Sunday's print version of The Movable Buffet I talked about the State of the Wayner and only had space to touch briefly on his current dispute with union musicians. For those interested I wrote a more detailed look at the Local 369's walkout on Wayne Newton show for Las Vegas Weekly. In that article Newton and the president of Local 369 both pinpoint the importance of a 1989 strike by the union that was dealt a fatal blow after two weeks when Newton, at the time perhaps the biggest star in Las Vegas, crossed the picket line. As a result of that strike casinos began moving shows to taped music and also casino orchestras went out of fashion. Nowadays, casinos pay a headliner with a lump sum and the headliner must pay their own musicians. So, in this case, the union is in the awkward position of having a problem with Wayne Newton but not with The Flamingo where he is performing since it is a Harrah's property and that company is on good terms with all of the local unions.

(photo by Christine Cotter/LAT)