Guards at Mandalay Bay defeated organizing efforts by the International Union of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America with a 123-110 vote.

The union, however, will not go quietly, with lead organizer Steve Maritas announcing plans to file an objection with the federal labor board alleging ballot box tampering. He also said that the only labor board agent overseeing the election suspended voting for five minutes while he went to the bathroom.

“We were robbed, man,” Maritas said.

The union does not allege that anyone destroyed or altered ballots, only that the election atmosphere did not meet free and fair standards established by the National Labor Relations Board.

Maritas wants the election to be rerun.

“When you’ve been doing this as long as I have, you know your numbers,” he said. “We were solid.”

Maritas complained that a ballot box hadn’t been properly sealed, allowing deposited ballots to fall out and that the labor board agent administering the election took the ballot box and blank ballots with him into the bathroom. The agent should have sealed the box and secured it in a locked room, Maritas said.

“This was not run properly,” he said. “Let’s have a new election, seal the box properly, and I’ll accept the results.”

MGM Mirage officials said the election was fair.

“We are gratified that our employees agree with us that direct communication is the best way to foster our relationship,” said Mandalay Bay President Bill Hornbuckle in a statement. “We appreciate the vote of confidence and will work hard to build and maintain a spirit of trust and responsiveness with our employees.”

The loss is a major setback for the union, which has dreams of organizing a number of casinos on the Strip, including the Luxor, the Mirage, New York New York and Treasure Island.

“Did they hurt the momentum? No question,” Maritas said. “If we took this one down, this town would have fallen like dominoes.”

By Casino Connection Staff

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