ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - (AP) -- The battle for the future
of the Trump Taj Mahal casino heated up Friday as the National Labor Relations
Board urged a judge to restore workers' benefits and soon-to-be-owner Carl
Icahn said the cuts are "an essential sacrifice that must be made" to
keep the casino open.
Icahn responded in a letter to employees who demonstrated
a day earlier outside his New York offices, saying their union was delaying a
new contract by insisting on preserving a health insurance plan he called
"a lucrative racket" for union bosses. His letter to Taj Mahal
workers came shortly after the labor board filed a brief in support of Local 54
of Unite-HERE, which is trying to overturn an October bankruptcy court ruling
that canceled health insurance and pension coverage.
About 100 union members hand-delivered a letter to
Icahn's Manhattan offices Thursday claiming the billionaire investor, who also
owns Atlantic City's Tropicana casino, is fighting against the little guy.
Icahn dismissed that accusation Friday.
"I am fighting for those employees -- fighting to
save their jobs in the midst of a wholly unstable crisis -- and my efforts are
being mischaracterized and attacked by a union that exploits those employees
for its own gain," Icahn wrote.
The union had no immediate comment on Icahn's letter.
Source: Newsday
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