If their contracts are not renewed, at least 1000 brick-and-mortar casino workers are expected to vote for the authorization of a strike. This workers’ strike is scheduled to take place on June 19th and could impact the Atlantic City gambling market greatly if nothing is done to stop it.
Employees from Golden Nugget Atlantic City and Resorts Casino Hotel announced that the deadline for their strike would determine whether they stayed or walked away from their posts. But should the union negotiating committee and the casino representative reach an agreement, it is very likely that the strike will be averted.
As the contract expiry date has gotten closer and closer, casino workers across New Jersey have been up in arms fighting for improved working conditions. According to Unite Here, which fights for the rights of workers, casino workers in Atlantic City have been asking for noteworthy salary rises, improved housekeeping workload standards, as well as better job protections.
The casino workers at the city’s 5 casinos voted “yes” to approve new contracts reached with their bosses. This means that more than 6,000 employees at MGM-operated Borgata, Hard Rock, and Caesars Entertainment-operated Caesars, Harrah’s, and Tropicana were covered by the newly ratified contracts. An extra 3000 staff members were also covered by the prior agreement that was signed at Bally’s and Ocean casinos.
But close to 1000 staff members of Resorts and Golden Nugget casinos still remained without new contracts from their superiors. As such, the worker negotiating committee planned to present the new agreement to the casinos, to please them to accept the terms that have already been accepted by fellow Atlantic City operators.
To avoid the strike authorization vote scheduled for July 19th, the operators must settle on the new standard of salaries and working settings. The newly ratified contracts afford considerable salary upsurges for all categories of casino workers, including both tipped and non-tipped personnel. According to numerous casino workers interviewed, casino staff has required pay increases for years owing to the rising costs of living.
As such, casino workers have been fighting for improved conditions the money will go a long way towards affording my daily expenses. According to the new contracts, tipped personnel are also expected to receive extensive salary rises, which is a big victory for tipped staff such as servers.
In addition to the much-needed salary hikes, the newly ratified agreements will also uphold fully sponsored family healthcare and pension. The contracts also included language that safeguards jobs while increasing working opportunities and promotions. The casino workers also fought bravely for new technology protections.
More importantly, enhancements to housekeeping workloads were also made. The new contracts have made certain that hotel rooms in many of the casinos are cleaned daily for instance. According to housekeepers, rooms aren’t always cleaned daily and these cleaning provisions will ensure that Atlantic City casinos maintain the standards required from the global destination the city has grown to become.
With the positive ratification vote finalized for many of the city’s workers, staff from Golden Nugget and Resorts expect the same treatment that other union members have already been given. If the negotiating committee is unable to reach an agreement, then Golden Nugget Resort workers will have no choice but to proceed with the planned strike.
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A crisis is finally averted
These settlements could not have come at a better time for the city and its thriving casino industry, which has been doing its best to recover from losses resulting from the pandemic. The industry has also been severely affected by inflation and the continuing labor shortage. Yet, these same components were the same major driving forces for the union to seek salary rises for casino workers
In the last, negotiations have always been centered around preserving health care and pension benefits. However, this year the union opted to focus on fighting for pay hikes for workers as everyone grapples to deal with the rising costs of food, rent, gas, and various other living expenses.
Had these deals not been reached, it would have led to the city’s first strike since 2016. In July 2016, approximately 1000 casino workers chose to go on strike after failing to reach a deal with union negotiators at the time. At the time, the Trump Taj Mahal was operated by financier Carl Icahn as Donald Trump had already given up ownership of the brand.
The staff members that were threatening to walk included housekeepers, cooks, servers, as well as bellmen. The management of the hotel claimed that they presented the best good faith offer that planned on restoring benefits that were lost during the casino’s bankruptcy. However, the Trump Taj Mahal was unable to prevent the walkouts.
This is what ultimately led to the closure of the Taj Mahal, which was one of the most popular casinos in the world. When the union went on strike on July 1st, 2016, the casino shut down a few months later on October 10th. Soon after, the casino was sold off to Hard Rock International, which rebranded it and reopened it as Hard Rock Atlantic City in June 2018.
But the economical situation in Atlantic City is a lot better than it was when the Trump Taj Mahal shut down in 2016. Since then, iGaming has become the main revenue driver for the city. iGaming and sports betting revenue, the casinos, as well as their partners have so far produced more than $1.8 billion in the first 5 months of 2022.
This is an increase of more than 50% compared to the same period in 2019 before the pandemic took hold of the entire world. With the revenue greatly improved, casino workers in the city also deserve improved circumstances, which is what inspired the fight for better working conditions.
Final Thoughts
With the casino contracts now ratified, casino operators in AC successfully managed to avert a strike that would have cost the city millions. Workers deserve protected health care, pensions, and improved severance benefits. More than anything, they also deserve a liveable wage and these new contracts have seen to just that.
