Nevada labor leaders are disappointed that their Democratic allies in the Legislature failed to advance significant items on laborÕs agenda despite controlling both chambers for the first time in two decades.

To be sure, unions can claim some small victories, including improvements to the stateÕs workersÕ compensation system and mandated safety training for construction workers. But a sense of frustration — even outrage — was palpable last week as labor leaders lamented lawmakersÕ failure to restructure the stateÕs tax system.

To hear them tell it, the Legislature robbed workers for the second consecutive session, forcing cuts in public employee pay, pensions and health benefits. Moreover, legislators amended collective bargaining rules for local governments, tilting the system toward management.

The LegislatureÕs failure to adopt new long-term revenue sources angers Danny Thompson, executive secretary-treasurer of the 200,000-member Nevada AFL-CIO.

He said the Legislature exhausted all its cost-cutting options this session and has no choice but to reform the stateÕs tax structure in 2011. Labor, he said, has nothing left to give.

ÒWeÕve got to diversify the tax base,Ó Thompson said. ÒItÕs painfully evident that youÕve got to make everybody pay, not just gaming. And if the Legislature wonÕt do it, you may find us doing it.Ó

He added: ÒYou canÕt operate as the worst state in the nation and expect youÕll have economic diversification.Ó

Thompson said the state AFL-CIO was exploring the option of putting the idea of a gross-receipts business tax to voters by sponsoring a ballot initiative. He said the idea has substantial support, particularly in the education community, which suffered deep cuts this session.

Still, union leaders acknowledged the political equation Democrats faced: Because the Nevada Constitution requires tax increases to pass with a two-thirds supermajority, party leaders — despite controlling both chambers — had to make concessions on big issues to win crucial Republican votes. A supermajority is also required to override the governorÕs veto.

Rusty McAllister, president of the firefighters union, said labor leaders were warned upfront, before the session started. The message to unions: YouÕd better focus your agenda on policy issues because there is no money to fight over.

ÒThey didnÕt have any options,Ó he said of Democratic leadership. ÒThey did what they had to do.Ó

Which is not to say lawmakers went far enough: ÒWhen we walk in the door next session weÕre right back to where we started. Every two years we do the same thing.Ó

McAllister and David Kallas, a Metro Police detective and director of government affairs for the Police Protective Association, said they were disappointed to see

the process so dominated by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. The chamber came to the Legislature with a list of demands, including reductions in public employee retirement and health benefits, in exchange for its support for a tax increase.

ÒThe chamber did a very good job of changing the discussion from Ôthe need to pay more in taxesÕ to ÔthereÕs plenty of money in public employee salaries,ÕÓ McAllister said. ÒIt was a great diversionary job.Ó

Kallas offered an unsubtle warning: Looking ahead to next yearÕs election, the police association will show no mercy toward elected officials it views as unfriendly to the union and its members.

The Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council has already chosen sides in the governorÕs race. On Monday, Executive Secretary-Treasurer Steve Ross said the 22,000-strong council endorsed Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid over Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley because the Legislature Òleft so many difficult decisions on the table for the next session.Ó

ÒComing out of a legislative session where the concerns of working men and women, like creating jobs, were too often put on the back burner, we need a leader who will bring a fresh perspective to Carson City,Ó Ross said in a statement.

In the general election, labor will unify against Gov. Jim Gibbons, who vetoed a pair of union-backed bills early in the session. One, sponsored by the Service Employees International Union, would have mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratios statewide. The other, pushed by the ironworkers union, set up a voluntary framework for union contractors to negotiate workersÕ compensation claims with labor organizations, outside the state system.

The Legislature overrode GibbonsÕ veto on the latter.

Unions lost on two other issues: The governor vetoed a bill that would have granted noneconomic bargaining rights to state workers and a measure that would have required paying the prevailing wage on more state projects.

The building trades council can boast of a victory in Assembly Bill 148, which requires 10 hours of OSHA-certified safety training of all construction workers and 30 hours of training for all construction supervisors.

The bill was the councilÕs top priority this session following a string of 12 deaths in 18 months on the Las Vegas Strip, and was strongly supported by a number of large contractors, including CityCenter contractor Perini Building Co. Ross says that reiterating safety practices among construction workers is the key to safe work sites.

Most union workers receive the training during their apprenticeships, but some journeymen and most nonunion workers have not received the training.

National safety experts say a training mandate has been difficult to fully enforce in other places, and they maintain it is just one step toward creating safe work sites. Also key, they say, is strong enforcement, ensuring that contractors follow safety laws.

An effort by Nevada Sen. Maggie Carlton to reform state workplace safety oversight did not receive the strong backing of unions and was unsuccessful.

Thompson noted labor also won legislation making it easier for workers to claim secondary injuries and making it more difficult for employers to fire injured workers. And he said unions would reintroduce other key measures in 2011, starting with collective bargaining rights for state employees.

ÒWeÕll go back and weÕll get it next session,Ó Thompson said.

Sun reporters Alexandra Berzon and J. Patrick Coolican contributed to this story.

Michael J. Mishak can be reached at 259-2347 or at michael.mishak@lasvegassun.com.

LABORÕS SIDE OF SESSION Õ09

What they got:

Ten hours of safety training for construction workers and 30 hours for supervisors are now mandated. Also, a voluntary framework has been set up for union contractors to negotiate workersÕ compensation claims with labor organizations.

What they wanted:

Lawmakers failed to broaden the stateÕs tax base as labor wanted with a gross-receipts business tax. Instead, they raised existing taxes to fill the stateÕs budget gap.

WhatÕs next:

The AFL-CIO is considering a push to put the idea of a business tax before voters. Also, labor is expected to come out hard against Gov. Jim Gibbons in the next election cycle, with one labor group already backing a Democratic candidate.