Former UFC owners Frank, and Lorenzo Fertitta are in the middle of litigation alleging unfair labor practices surrounding their Las Vegas Casino business enterprise.
As revealed in a report from The Daily Beast, the pair of Fertitta brothers are set to appear and speak with a National Labor Relations Board judge. The Fertitta brothers have also been ordered to appear and testify about the allegations related to “undercutting labor organizing efforts.”
In July, the US District Judge Gloria Navarro handed down a ruling that would order Station Casinos to recognize various food service workers as part of a union. In addition, the subpoena also indicates that 1,350 culinary workers who are employed by Red Rock Resorts (also owned by the Fertitta brothers) are also looking for union inclusion.
Before voting took place to determine inclusion, Station Casinos announced that it will now offer a new benefits program for all of its employees. In the package, a comprehensive free healthcare plan is offered to workers making less than $41,600 annually. With Station Casinos locked into a decades-long fight with the Culinary Union, it seems bleak that the two will ever truly meet eye-to-eye.
Fighter unions remain a hot-button issue in the world of combat sports. In an ongoing effort to stifle unionization, the Fertitta brothers have been at odds with labor unions for years now. In 2015, two of the biggest unions in the U.S tried to get fighters to band together with the intention of advancing fighter pay in a meaningful way. At the time, the UFC thought the unions were attempting to exploit their paid contractors and there has yet to be an official union made for fighters to this date.
As it stands, many sporting organizations offer a 50% cut of the revenue with their athletes. However, right now, the UFC only shares roughly 16% of their annual revenue with their six-hundred or so fighters under contract.
What do you make of the revenue split in the UFC?