A longtime Wynn Las Vegas pool employee has filed a federal labor complaint alleging she was questioned in a way that felt like surveillance after she voiced support for unionizing, becoming the third worker this year to accuse the Strip resort of retaliating against union organizing efforts. Colleen Donahue says she plans to retire next week, but wanted to speak up first to protect the coworkers she's leaving behind.
Donahue, described by KTNV as a longtime pool operator at Wynn Las Vegas, filed her complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. The station reports that, per the complaint, an employee relations representative gave the impression of surveillance while accusing and interrogating her about her communication with coworkers concerning union support. The Las Vegas Review-Journal, however, identified Donahue differently, describing her in its own reporting as a pool shop engineer at Wynn Las Vegas.
According to the same KTNV report, Donahue accused Wynn Resorts of intimidating and spying on her because of her support for unionizing, a claim made in a union press release. She worked with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 501 to file the complaint, and the union says it helped her navigate the process.
Union Says More Workers Are Coming Forward
Karina Ochoa, a Local 501 organizer, said her union knows how to submit complaints, word them properly, and communicate with a board agent — expertise she said has encouraged workers to come forward rather than stay silent. Ochoa said people started sharing their experiences working at Wynn Resorts after an earlier Channel 13 story aired.
That earlier reporting, from September, centered on two former Wynn employees, Napco Sharma and Randall Crank, who both believe they were fired for supporting unionization efforts. The Review-Journal reported that Crank and Sharma filed their own complaints with the NLRB's Phoenix regional office on Aug. 28. Wynn Resorts denied those allegations in September, telling KTNV in a statement that the former employees' claims were unsubstantiated.
What the Federal Charge Alleges
Per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the charge filed on Donahue's behalf alleges unlawful interrogation, retaliation related to concerted activity, and coercive actions including surveillance. Local 501 filed that charge on Oct. 22 with the NLRB's Phoenix regional office, and the newspaper notes the case remains open. The filing itself does not establish that Wynn violated labor law; it simply starts a federal review process.
A Wynn Resorts spokesperson denied Donahue's allegations outright, telling KTNV: “We vehemently deny these allegations. They are unsubstantiated, and we are confident that a review of the facts will show they are without merit.” Donahue, for her part, said she wants to protect current and future employees at the resort.
A Broader Pattern on the Strip and Beyond
Donahue's complaint lands amid a string of friction between Nevada casino operators and organized labor. In a separate case involving a different company, the NLRB upheld a litany of unfair labor practice charges against Red Rock Casinos, ordering the company to return to bargaining with union members, according to Hotel Dive. A Station Casinos spokesperson said at the time that the company was reviewing the decision and said, “we are likely to appeal.”
Whether Donahue's own complaint leads to a similar finding remains to be seen, as the case against Wynn is still working its way through the NLRB's Phoenix office. For now, her allegations join those of Sharma and Crank as federal regulators sort out competing accounts of what happened inside one of the Strip's most prominent resorts.
