Union strikes at Trump Taj Mahal

A casino workers union is on strike at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract.

The strike by Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union started at 6 a.m. Friday, with nearly 1,000 cooks, housekeepers and servers walking off the job.

The union said in an early Friday statement that workers would "walk off the job this morning ahead of the industry's biggest holiday weekend to fight for decent wages, basic benefits, and the future of their middle class livelihoods."

About half an hour into the strike, workers were continuing to arrive on Boardwalk to join the picket line, after moving their cars off the property.

The workers at the property, owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, who purchased it in a bankruptcy proceeding, were getting red strike t-shirts to wear over their brown Taj uniforms and white kitchen jackets.

Union negotiator Chuck Baker said the company offered a health care package but it was inadequate. The company also agreed to bring down the number of room cleaners on a shift from 16 back to 14, and seemed to want to settle, he said.

The Independence Day weekend is among the busiest of the year for casinos in Atlantic City. The union reached deals with four other casinos – Bally's, Caesars, Harrah's and the Tropicana, which Icahn also owns – in the city but was unable to come to an agreement with the Taj Mahal.

CEO Tony Rodio told the union the company had been investing money back into the Taj and could not afford more concessions, according to Baker.

"I'm a little surprised," he said. "Your biggest investment is your employees."

Some members of other unions working at the casino said they would not cross the picket line.

Though the Taj Mahal is no longer operated by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, it still bears his name.

Source: Philly.com