Atlantic City Casino Workers Accept New Two Year Contracts

The Atlantic City casino industry has had a tough enough time the past couple of years, and the lat thing they needed was fighting between workers and the casinos. On Friday, members of Local 54 of UNITE-HERE made sure the battle between the union workers and the casinos would not go on.

The workers voted in favor of a new two year contract, one that had been negotiated over a two year period. Six of the AC casinos have agreed to the deal, and both the casinos and workers can now rest easier.

The deal is similar to the one that Harrah's Entertainment agreed to with their workers, but there is a glaring difference. The contracts agreed to on Friday have a one year wage freeze. The Harrah's deal had no such wage freeze.

Still, the workers were happy with the results of the new deal. One of the main issues was health benefits, and the casinos have conceded to continue to guarantee pension and health benefits. That concession alone held a lot of weight with the casino workers.

"In a time when employers across the country are using the economy as a way to abandon their responsibilities to their work force, I want to commend the casino owners in Atlantic City who have refused to participate in a race to the bottom," said Local 54 President Bob McDevitt.

Atlantic City casinos have been ravaged by the economy in the past couple of years. Several casinos have filed for bankruptcy, but through all the tough times, the casinos have made it a priority to continue to negotiate with employee unions. The new deal will run for two years and covers around 5,000 employees.

November 14, 2009
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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