Last night, hospitality workers from two casinos in Atlantic City voted to authorize strike action. The negotiating committee of the Unite Here Local 54 has set a July 30th deadline to come to an agreement with Resorts and Golden Nugget.
In case a strike takes place, about 1,000 casino employees in total could walk off their jobs, which will cause disruptions in the aforementioned casinos. If the motion is successful, casino workers could see a significant increase in their wages.
The labor action, which was authorized on July 19th, was approved by 97% of the workers who are members of Unite Here Local 54. For the time being, no specific date for the strike action has been formally set.
So far, 7 casinos managed to reach agreements with hospitality workers that are being represented by Local 54, so now, workers of Resorts and Golden Nugget are also seeking a new 4-year contract and a paycheck raise.
The CEO and President of Resorts, March Giannantonio, said in a statement that the Local 54 Union Leadership had been using a strategy to authorize a strike vote before holding any negotiations with the Atlantic City casino properties and their owners. He confirmed that Resorts was expecting to hold meetings with the union and negotiate the terms for a deal that would be beneficial for both parties.
So Far Several Atlantic City Casinos Agree on the Worker Union’s Terms
The members of Unite Here Local 54 highlighted the fact that 7 casino properties in Atlantic City already agreed to the same terms, which have not been made public so far, so the union members are unwilling to negotiate them.
One of the members of the union’s negotiation committee, who works as a bartender at the Golden Nugget property confirmed that the worker union members would probably be courteous enough to sit down at the table but would not negotiate the terms of the agreement because this is the contract in the shape and form they want it.
As CasinoGamesPro previously reported, right before the Fourth of July weekend, hospitality workers at the 5 biggest casinos threatened to go on a strike if their employers do not meet their requirements for better working conditions and higher wages. The parties managed to reach an agreement prior to the strike deadline, which helped the casinos avoid picket lines on a major holiday weekend that would have amassed large losses for the casino venues.
Now, some workers said they did not want to go on strike but they would because this was the right thing to do, especially if they wanted to see things change for the better. On the other hand, some previous paycheck raises received by employees have already been eaten up by inflation, considering the prices were higher. Worker union members are ready to go on strike, if necessary, in order to get a deal similar to the one approved a week ago by employees of 5 of the largest Atlantic City casinos.
