The union that has been embroiled with Trump Taj Mahal
since last year will be gearing up for its first strike against a casino in
more than 10 years.
On Tuesday, Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union will be loading a storage trailer
filled with supplies for a strike against the casino, including wheelchairs,
garbage cans, tables and chairs, marching band drums, and an inflatable rat and
generators, according to the Associated Press.
A number of workers, tasked with organizing picketing,
will be trained as "strike captains," reports AP, which also said the
last time the union went on strike was in 2004 when it targeted seven of the
then-12 casinos for a month.
The union will only target Taj Mahal this time around.
Trump Entertainment Resorts says it has a plan to remain
open during a possible strike, but it won't detail the preparations it has
made. The company is being acquired by billionaire Carl Icahn, who has criticized the union's health
care plan as unaffordable. Both sides are waiting for an appeals court ruling
on whether the union members' benefits should be restored. If they are, Icahn
has vowed to cut off financial support for the Taj Mahal and force it to close.
Trump Entertainment has been involved in a battle with
the union in two areas: Union members were asked to give up their health care
plans in favor of a $2,000 credit that could go toward health care costs. It
also wants them to substitute pensions for 401(k) plans.
A federal bankruptcy judge last October voided the union
contract, a move gaming experts said would be positive for the
remaining casinos.
"The balance of power has shifted back to the
casinos. Casinos have leverage now. The union leaders can't come and say you
have to pay more. They'll say, 'Are you crazy?'" Alan Woinski, president
of Gaming USA Corp, said last October. "So instead of the power being more
towards unions, now we're trying to survive, so you either work with us or we
don't need you anymore."
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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