Hospitality workers at two Atlantic City casinos voted to authorize a strike on Tuesday with the possibility of about 1,000 workers headed to the picket lines if an agreement cannot be hammered out by July 30th.
Unite Here Local 54 workers have voted to give the union’s negotiating committee permission to call a strike at Resorts and the Golden Nugget.
It was widely believed that workers at the Golden Nugget and Resorts would be able to work out details with management to give them significant wage increases, better housekeeping workload standards, and job protections in a new four-year contract.
Five Atlantic City casinos averted strikes on the Fourth of July Weekend and two others, Bally’s and Ocean casinos had already signed agreements with worker representatives.
President and CEO of Resorts, Mark Giannantonio provided a statement to a news outlet that read: “It has been the strategy of Local 54 Union Leadership to authorize a strike vote prior to negotiations with the properties in Atlantic City. We are eagerly awaiting to meet with the union and negotiate in good faith terms for an amicable deal for our Team Members and Resorts.”
Workers Want Same Terms as Other Members Have Ratified
The Union states that the city-wide agreements already reached with other casinos hold the terms they are willing to accept. Those agreements covering about 6,000 casino workers at Hard Rock, MGM-operated Borgata, and Caesars Entertainment-operated Caesars, Harrah’s, and Tropicana were ratified by members on Monday with an acceptance by 99% of covered workers.
“We would courtesy sit down maybe but there’s no negotiations. This is the contract, this is what we want. This is what everyone else has. This is what we deserve,” a member of the negotiation committee member, J Eger said, according to the report.
The worker negotiating committee announced earlier they planned to present the now ratified new agreements to casino management, “asking them to accept the terms already agreed to by their competitors,” according to an announcement on the Unite HERE website.
In addition to securing a living wage for tipped and non-tipped workers, members at the city’s largest casinos are all ensured increased work opportunities and job protections, fully funded pensions, and family healthcare. Housekeeping workload Improvements were secured as well ensuring that occupied rooms must be cleaned daily.
Eight GCGC Casinos in Ontario Face Friday Deadline
In Canada, 8 Great Canadian Gaming Corporation (GCGC) casinos across Ontario face a Friday deadline set by the largest private sector union in Canada, Unifor. A total of 1,830 workers covered by the bargaining unit have voted to strike if an agreement cannot be reached with management by Midnight Friday.
Unifor national secretary-treasurer, Lana Payne said in a press release from the union: “Casino employers have bounced back following the pandemic-related closures.
“Our goal at the bargaining table is to share some of those gains with the workers who make casinos successful.”
Nearly all elements of casino and hospitality operations would be affected by a strike including cashiering, food and beverage, guest services, housekeeping, culinary and kitchen, maintenance, security, slots, and table games.
In addition to a desire to convert some part-time jobs to full-time jobs, Unifor has prioritized wages, benefits, and pensions in the ongoing negotiations.
About 1,500 workers across Casino Ajax, Casino Woodbine, Great Blue Heron Casino, Pickering Casino Resort, Shorelines Casino Peterborough, and Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands are represented by Unifor. About 300 employees at two other GCGC properties – Elements Casino Brantford, and 30 security personnel at Elements Casino Mohawk bring the total number of potential strikers to 1,830.
GCGC was acquired by Apollo Asset Management in September 2021. The company has 25 casinos in four provinces.
Source: More than 1,800 Ontario casino workers prepare to strike amid contract negotiations, CBC News, July 18, 2022
Hospitality workers from two Atlantic City casinos vote to authorize strike, WPVI-6