At a recent state assembly meeting, tensions ran high and workers could not be silenced. The snap decision to cancel the vote had casino workers burning with rage, with some choosing to take matters into their own hands. They had appeared to be making some progress - until a preliminary vote on smoking in casinos was cancelled at short notice. Workers at Atlantic City’s casinos have been pushing for a smoking ban for years now. In past contracts, the Atlantic City union had concentrated on preserving health care and pension benefits, but this time sought “significant” pay raises for workers to help them keep pace with spiraling prices for gasoline, food, rent and other living expenses, the union said.Smoking is prohibited in almost every workplace in New Jersey. It also removed any chance of a strike for several years, an important consideration for Atlantic City’s casino industry as it tries to return to pre-pandemic business levels.

Last summer, the casino workers’ union in Atlantic City negotiated landmark contracts that gave workers the biggest raises they’ve ever had. “It’s a chance for all the members to come out and show that we’re really ready to fight.” “It’s great to see all the huge numbers in turnout,” said Kuykendall, a bellperson at Flamingo Las Vegas. Rory Kuykendall, 40, said he is hopeful that Tuesday’s vote will have the same effect. Five-year contracts were reached soon after a majority of the participating 25,000 hospitality workers cast votes to walk off the job. The union last voted to authorize a strike in 2018. The union said all the strikers returned to their jobs afterward, with back pay and benefits.

It became one of the longest strikes in U.S. In 1991, more than 500 workers went on strike at the now-shuttered Frontier hotel and casino in downtown Las Vegas. Khan declined to say how much the union is seeking in pay raises because “we do not negotiate in public,” although the union has said it is asking for “the largest wage increases ever negotiated” in its history. “There are a lot of us who have two jobs, but one job should be enough.”īethany Khan, the union’s spokesperson, said all members receive health insurance and currently earn about $26 hourly, including benefits.

“There’s no telling where I would be if I didn’t have the support of my daughter,” Virgil said.

Atlantic casino worker strike