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Atlantic City casino
workers vote for strike
In Atlantic city Thursday, casino workers
overwhelmingly decided to allow their union
to strike if a new contract is not reached
by Wednesday, September 15.
If it does happen, a strike would affect all
but one of the city's 12 casinos, the
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which opened
last year. Its contract with Local 54 of
Unite Here will not expire until 2007.
Union spokesperson Chris Magoulas, stated
that approximately 14,500 of Local 54's
17,000 members were eligible to vote.
He also said that 8,020 members voted to
authorize a strike and only 108 voted
against a strike.
After the votes were counted, Magoulas went
on to say that the voting results send an
extraordinary message to the gaming industry
that workers in Atlantic City want to be
part of the future of the gaming industry
and that they are ready and willing to fight
to keep their health care and to prevent the
demise of quality jobs in Atlantic City.
He said traffic was so heavy
around the convention center where voting
took place that thousands of union members
were not able to cast their votes.
The union represents cooks, housekeepers,
food servers, bartenders, cocktail servers
and other service workers.
The contract would expire just four days
before the Miss America Pageant.
The last citywide strike by Local 54 was in
1999, a three-day action that crippled
casino hospitality services.
Negotiators took a break Thursday after
talking on Tuesday and Wednesday, Magoulas
said.
The union is seeking to preserve health
benefits and limit subcontracting, he said.
It also wants a three-year contract, instead
of the current five-year contract, so a new
contract would expire with that of the
Borgata, as well as with casinos in Las
Vegas and Detroit, Magoulas said.
Chicago-area riverboat casino workers are
also seeking a new contract that expires in
2007, he said.
A lawyer representing the casinos did not
return a message seeking comment.
If a strike is called, the negotiating
committee could target one, some or all of
the casinos, Magoulas said.
Of particular concern is Tropicana Casino
and Resort, which plans to subcontract jobs
at The Quarter, its shopping and
entertainment complex opening this fall, to
companies that can hire nonunion workers,
said Al Tabei, a member of Local 54's
executive board and negotiating committee.
The committee urged a 'yes' vote on strike
authorization, he said. He declined to say
whether members would strike if no contract
was near by Wednesday.
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