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Letter
# 39
Subj.:
The Problem with the Industry
Date: 11/09/2000 3:20:24 PM Pacific Standard
Time
From: #39-Atlantic City
To: dealers@nfge.com
Have you
ever wondered why the dealers in Atlantic City, Las Vegas and
other casino cities keep trying to gain union representation? I'll
tell you the some of the reasons. Let me start off by saying that
I have been dealing for over 5 years and I like my job. I am not
burned out nor do I hate coming to work every night, but I know
that my job could be so much better. I would also like to say that
it is not the fault of any one particular casino; these problems
are INDUSTRY WIDE. Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Biloxi, everywhere
there are casinos, there are dealers who DESERVE MORE.
Consider this. On average the casinos in Atlantic City have
been open around 20 years. In 1985 the minimum wage was
$3.15/hour. Now it is $5.35/hour, which represents an increase of
$2.20. The starting pay for a dealer in 1985 was between $3.00 and
$3.50/hour. Today the starting pay for a dealer is between $3.50
and $4.25/hour. You may ask yourself how it is possible that the
starting pay for unskilled labor has gone up $2.20/hour, and in
the same time span the starting pay for a dealer, a skilled
position, has only increased 50 to 75 cents/hour.
Ask yourself when was the last time you saw a "minimum
wage job" like fast food or convenience store worker actually
pay minimum wage? We have all see the signs outside Burger King,
McDonalds, Wawa or 7-11 offering $6.50 -$7.50 or more to start.
The "minimum wage," therefore has gone up
$3.35-$4.35/hour since 1985.
My 14-year-old daughter was recently given a job at Burger
King for $6.75 per hour and she has never worked a day in her
life. I have been dealing for over 5 years and I am still 6 more
years away from matching her starting pay, even though I have
received the maximum annual salary increase every year since I
started dealing. (Which company do you think had a higher profit
margin last year??)
This brings us to another point. In order for a dealer in
my casino to reach the maximum hourly rate of $8.00 to $8.50/hour
he would have to work there for over 18 years. Some will argue
(mostly casino management) that we get our toke rate and it is
unlimited. Is it really? How many times have we seen the casino
keep games open when they clearly can be closed? Why? To control
the toke rate! The casino knows that if the toke rate goes too
high employees will turn down the dual-rate. Casinos that
guarantee that their dual raters will not to lose money do not
want the toke rate to go too high because then their match will go
up.
Then there is the question of pension plans for dealers.
Where are the pension plans for the dealers from these companies
making millions of dollars in profits every year? The companies
that do offer a match on 401K contributions only offer between 2%
and 6%, and to get that contribution from the company you are
required to put in the same amount or even in some cases double
the amount before the company puts in their share. Why is that? Do
the casinos feel that a dealer who can't afford to have money
deducted from his or her paycheck for 401K is less of an employee
than an employee who can? Wouldn't you think that the dealer who
couldn't afford it needed the company's help more?
What about this? No casino I know of offers medical
benefits after retirement. Even though they expect you to breathe
second hand smoke, which we all know causes cancer and heart
disease at the same rate as first hand smoking. They also expect
you to deal under UNHEALTHY conditions of people sneezing,
coughing and spitting all over the casino. Then, should you get
sick from any of these unhealthy conditions and miss work, what do
you get? A drastic cut in pay because all you get for being sick
is that $3.50 to $8.00 per hour that I mentioned earlier, no
tokes. Believe me these things I have mentioned are only the tip
of the iceberg.
THE DEALERS
IN THIS COUNTRY NEED UNION REPRESENTATION!! The only reason that
we haven't gotten it yet is because the casinos are willing to
spend MILLIONS on stopping a union drive when one starts in their
casino. Yet they are UNWILLING to spend the same money to keep us
happy and better taken care of in the first place. No one can say
that a union will fix ALL of the things that are wrong in the
casinos. But I'll tell all of the dealers reading this that if you
vote in favor of the union you will not pay a penny of dues until
the union has negotiated a contract that must be approved by a
majority of the dealers in the casino. DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT
ANY OF YOUR CO-WORKERS WOULD VOTE IN FAVOR OF A CONTRACT THAT
GIVES YOU LESS THEN YOU ARE ALREADY GETTING? WOULD YOU??
WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE??!!
An Angry Atlantic City Dealer (#39-atlantic city)
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