Carl Icahn fires back at union over Trump Taj Mahal closure

Carl Icahn pointed the finger at Trump Taj Mahal's striking workers in a scathing letter issued Thursday afternoon that condemns the president of the union representing the casino's employees and his team for what the activist investor calls their decision to "destroy the Taj."

"The strike has been the latest and final nail," Icahn, 80, wrote in a letter addressed to all of the casino's employees.

The 80-year-old activist investor and owner of the Taj and Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City opened his statement by reiterating previous remarks from ownership representatives on Icahn Enterprises' loss of nearly $100 million and explaining his organization "wasn’t involved, in any way whatsoever, with the Taj management and ownership that put the Taj into bankruptcy. Icahn Enterprises in no way created the dire circumstances that the Taj found itself in at that time."

But his words quickly turned biting, questioning the decision-making of UNITE HERE Local 54 President Bob McDevitt and saying his "bombastic rhetoric" helped lead to the decision to close the Taj after Labor Day.

"We suggest you ask Local 54 leadership several questions that continue to perplex us: Why have they incited you, the Union workers at the Taj, to destroy your jobs and your livelihood rather than accept the prior offer that we made at McDevitt’s suggestion."

Claiming McDevitt and other Local 54 leaders helped ownership reach its "best and final offer," Icahn said it is "perplexing" that the union head didn't even give workers a chance to vote on the deal.

"We believe that if the Local 54 employees had been allowed to vote, the outcome may have been different," he said.

McDevitt retaliated with his own statement, insisting Icahn's final proposal was reviewed and rejected by union members before they went on strike on July 1.

"We have not had an offer from Icahn since the evening of June 30, when workers rejected that proposal and voted to strike," McDevitt said, echoing another union representative's previous comments to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

"It has been nothing but the usual my way or the highway from Carl Icahn," he continued. "That’s not trying to reach an agreement; that’s punishing working people for standing up to injustice."

With no exact date set for the closure – ownership has just said sometime after Labor Day, the hostility is sure to build as union members declared they will continue to demonstrate outside the Taj Mahal.

Picketers can be heard chanting the union's latest mantra – "One day stronger, one day longer."

The impending Taj Mahal shutdown is the latest in a series of casino closures plaguing Atlantic City's economy. Some experts say it could provide a small boost to the remaining casinos – including the Icahn-owned Tropicana – as they absorb the Taj customer base. The closure, however, also perpetuates the negative image surrounding A.C., they said.

Icahn closed his statement by saying he was committed to helping the Taj Mahal workers in the transition. "We wish this story could have had a different ending," he wrote. "We will do everything we can to manage the closure in the best way possible for all employees."

The promise, however, is unlikely to ease the worries of union members since McDevitt says they've heard similar assurances in the past.

"Recently, [Icahn] has made a public promise to put $100 million into the Trump Taj Mahal. He told the workers they were the most important asset of the property," McDevitt said. "Now, rather than negotiate with those same workers, he has decided he would rather close down."

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal