Dealers in Atlantic City casinos organized last year with the United Automobile Workers. While the casinos are bringing in massive profits, dealers are being left behind and lack adequate benefits without a contract. Union members and concerned community members boarded the buses and headed to Atlantic City to show support for the workers.
Rally attendees heard from workers, union leaders and politicians about the situation and marched down Atlantic, stopping at the casinos along the way to demand a contract.
ATLANTIC CITY (AP) Shouting “Negotiate!” as they made their way through the streets, about 3,000 newly unionized casino workers and their supporters staged a rally on Saturday aimed at pressuring Atlantic City casinos to agree to new contracts.
The marchers, angry over the lack of progress in talks with the gambling halls on what would be the resort’s first union contracts for dealers, waved signs and chanted slogans as they walked past the major casinos. The police had cordoned off a few blocks for the protest, which lasted more than three hours. No major problems were reported.
“I think the casinos really got our message,” said Sharon Masino, a dealer at Caesars Atlantic City. “We voted, we won and now it’s way past time to negotiate a contract that delivers good wages and decent health care.”
Since the United Automobile Workers started a major push to unionize dealers at all 11 Atlantic City casinos 15 months ago, it won representation elections at four casinos: Caesars, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, the Tropicana Casino and Resort, and Bally’s Atlantic City. It lost elections at Trump Marina Hotel Casino and the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort.
But officials say winning representation elections was the easy part; getting management to agree to and sign a contract has proven impossible thus far.
Among those who took part in the rally were Ron Gettelfinger, the U.A.W. president; John J. Sweeney, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. president; and Charlie Wowkanech, leader of the group’s New Jersey chapter. Gov. Jon S. Corzine, United States Senator Robert Menendez and some members of the state’s congressional delegation Frank A. LoBiondo, Robert E. Andrews, Chris Smith and Bill Pascrell Jr. also attended the event.
Mr. Menendez read a message from Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who urged the two sides to come together and reach a fair deal.