News Archives
April 17, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY CASINO DEALERS AND SLOT TECHNICIANS DEMAND RIGHT TO NEGOTIATE FAIR CONTRACTS
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Union members joined the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, Atlantic
Cape May Central Labor Council, elected officials, interfaith leaders and community activists, this evening at City Hall, in support of casino workers who are fighting for their basic right to organize and negotiate fair union contracts.
Cape May Central Labor Council, elected officials, interfaith leaders and community activists, this evening at City Hall, in support of casino workers who are fighting for their basic right to organize and negotiate fair union contracts.
Atlantic City Mayor Scott Evans, State Senator Jim Whalen (D-2), Assemblyman John F. Amodeo (R-2), Atlantic City Council Members, Reverend Reginald Floyd of Christ Worship Center Worldwide, President Charles Wowkanech of the NJ State AFL-CIO, and President Roy Foster of the Atlantic / Cape May Central Labor Council demonstrated their support of the workers by signing on to a petition defending their right to bargain fair contracts.
Despite the overwhelming votes by workers at four Atlantic City casinos in favor of forming a union with the United Auto Workers, casino management at Caesers, Tropicana, Trump Plaza and Bally’s continues to stall and delay negotiations to avoid granting the nearly 4,000 workers a voice at work.
New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech spoke on the climate for workers trying to gain a voice at work, explaining, “Even after a successful election, when workers have made their desire for representation clear, employers often still refuse to recognize workers' rights and fail to bargain and reach a fair first contract. The elected officials and community leaders are here with us today, to say, ‘This cannot, and will not, occur in a union town like Atlantic City.’”
The casino dealers and slot technicians fight to organize and management’s opposition to the workers’ freedom to form a union clearly illustrates that the current system for establishing a union in America is broken and is skewed in favor of employers. It is a system that is in desperate need of reform and thousands of workers in Atlantic City are unfortunately victims of this failed system. Regardless, dealers, slot technicians, and other gaming workers are moving forward to form their union.
Aneil Patel, a dealer at Caesars shared, “If you look at the history of the casinos, they don’t want to give us anything. Wages are falling, and benefits are falling. If you look at inflation, we don’t keep pace. The base salary, 29 years ago, was $3.75 and now, the starting rate for a dealer is $4.00. Are you telling me that in twenty-nine years, the cost of living only went up by 25 cents?” He continued, “We are handling the money for the casino. It looks glamorous, but behind the scenes, we can’t even put food on the table.”
When asked why he wanted to join a union, Patel answered, “Number one is benefits. When Harrah’s came in, they came in like a storm. Within six months they changed our benefits – raising prices and cutting coverage. A lot of people got sick, and then the bills came in, sometimes ten and twenty thousand dollars. And then we said, ‘it’s time to form a union.”
On April 9, Atlantic City Council members passed a resolution supporting the dealers and slot technicians’ rights, unanimously “calling on all casinos in Atlantic City to stop treating gaming workers as second-class citizens, to negotiate fair contracts, and to join us in improving our community.” Mayor Scott Evans announced proudly at today’s press conference, “Atlantic City is a union town. Most workers in our gaming industry are members of labor unions. This has been good for Atlantic City. We are a better place to live when our citizens work under contracts – with good wages, and good benefits.”
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