Workers Threaten To Shut Down Atlantic City With Strike

Atlantic City’s casino economy has been on the brink of collapse for the last 5 years. According to this Connecticut Post report workers are ready to strike if demands aren’t met. I say let it burn……

Atlantic City’s casino workers say they’ll go on strike against five of the city’s eight casinos on July 1 if a contract isn’t reached by then.
Members of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union voted Thursday to authorize a strike against Bally’s, Caesars, Harrah’s and the Tropicana. The union had already authorized a strike against the Trump Taj Mahal.
A spokesman said Thursday several thousand workers cast ballots, which were 96 percent in favor of a strike.
The remaining three casinos— Borgata, Golden Nugget and Resorts — have been given an indefinite extension by the union, which says talks with them have been making progress.
The union says workers made painful sacrifices that need to be reversed now that Atlantic City’s casinos are regaining their financial footing.
“To me the most insulting thing is that in 2011 this union gave up part of its package to help the casinos when they were struggling,” union president Bob McDevitt said.
The vote comes at a precarious point for Atlantic City as it begins to stabilize from the loss of four of its 12 casinos in 2014, grapples with a $100 million budget shortfall and tries to fight off a state takeover and the prospect of in-state competition from two proposed casinos in the northern part of the state.
“These five employers clearly are not in touch with what their employees are feeling,” McDevitt said. “What is happening at the table is an insult. The day before a strike vote, Tropicana offered a five-year wage freeze. The day before!”