Labor & Employment Law

Tropicana Dealers Ratify Historic Contract

By James Parks

Thousands of casino workers and supporters marched in Atlantic City in 2008 to demand that casino owners negotiate with the workers? union.

Casino dealers at the Tropicana Casino and Resort approved an historic first-ever contract for dealers in Atlantic City.

Ninety-one percent of the dealers who voted approved the five-year deal, which includes an 18 percent pay raise over term. More than 700 dealers work at the casino.  

The Tropicana is one of four casinos in Atlantic City where thousands of workers voted to join the UAW three years ago. Full- and part-time dealers and slot techs at Caesars, Trump Plaza and Bally?s also voted to form their own unions, but casino operators either have refused to bargain or stalled the negotiating process. In March 2010, the Tropicana was acquired out of bankruptcy by a group of investors headed by financier Carl Icahn, and bargaining progressed with the new owners.

Says Scott Adams, UAW Region 9 director:

We are overjoyed about reaching this agreement and moving forward to help workers at the other Atlantic City casinos win a fair contract and the respect they deserve.

“We look forward to a productive relationship…and to working together to make the Tropicana a great place for customers, workers and investors,” said UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, who directs the union’s Gaming Department.  

The UAW represents more than 8,800 gaming employees in Detroit, Atlantic City, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Indiana.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on August 20, 2010 (boomark / email).