Union authorizes July strike against 5 Atlantic City casinos

 ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - 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!"

Tony Rodio, president of Tropicana Entertainment, which runs the Tropicana and the Taj Mahal, said the company has invested $160 million at the Tropicana since 2011.

"Our employees have benefited from increased hours, increased gratuities and job security while 33 percent of the market's 12 casinos have been forced to close and thousands have lost their jobs," he said. "It should also be noted that since emerging from bankruptcy in 2010, current ownership has not withdrawn one penny of investment from Tropicana Atlantic City while continuing to risk millions in an uncertain market."

Kevin Ortzman, president of Caesars and Bally's, said parent company Caesars Entertainment's "goal remains to negotiate a fair resolution to keep our employees at work for their sake and to continue supporting Atlantic City's revitalization, which has our full commitment."

Irma Dominguez, a housekeeper at Harrah's for 24 years, said she's ready to walk out if necessary.

"Since 2004, I've only gained 80 cents an hour on my salary," she said. "In 2011, we gave them back a week of vacation to help keep them in business. Now that they're making money, we want that back. We deserve it."

Elaine Malloy, a cocktail server at Bally's, called the casinos' current offer "horrendous."

"They're not willing to give anything back that they needed from us in 2011, when we agreed to help them," she said.

Remaining on the job under current conditions would be almost as financially difficult as going out on strike, she said.

Source: Philly.com