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"GSA
PROJECT"
(Gimme
Some Air)
On August
22nd the NFGE applied to Nevada for a grant from its share of the
Tobacco Settlement Fund to set up a program to eliminate second
hand smoke from Nevada's casinos. The following is the Project
Narrative from our Grant Application:
Project
Narrative
The National
Federation of Gaming Employees, formerly known as the Nevada
Casino Dealers Association, has been associated with employee
health and safety issues for 12 years since our organization was
formed. The project we are proposing to create is based on the
title of an article we wrote in our newsletter titled,
"Gimme’ Some Air". The program that we will create
will carry that same name.
The project we create will combat the dangerous situation
caused by the foul and toxic environment of uncontrolled second
hand smoke within Nevada's casinos. For the most part, there are
two population groups who are most affected by this negative
environment: casino dealers and casino customers. Neither of these
two constituencies had been represented or had their rights
protected in the secret forums held by the various casino
management teams when they discussed the issue of second hand
smoke in their casinos.
It is our belief that casino dealers and the customers who
patronize Nevada's casinos are being injured by the second hand
smoke which reaches into the length and breadth of every casino in
the state. Additionally, it is our feeling that those who have the
ability to actually control the environment within the casinos are
ignoring the issue. They are wrongfully misreading and overlooking
the long-term effects of second hand smoke, not only in terms of
its health impact, but also on its eventual effect on our future
business, business that will be lost simply because the legitimate
needs of our customers are being ignored.
It is quite relevant to discuss our past experiences in our
battle against second hand smoke and the political and business
conditions that prevail in this state which allow this dangerous
environment to continue to threaten our workers and our customers.
The main thrust of our public position on the subject of second
hand smoke in the casino was promulgated through our newsletter,
"Inside The Pit," which was distributed to members and
non-members alike. We found that the newsletter enabled us to
focus our arguments and gather support for our issues.
We intend to incorporate the idea into our GSA (Gimme’
Some Air) Project. We also participated in federal OSHA hearings
where we provided an input to hearings on Docket No. H-122 in
January of 1996, regarding federal rules on smoking in the
workplace. In 1996 we also ran an election-legislative survey
which we published. The survey to was used to determine the
position of legislators on the "no-smoke rules" for
Nevada.
The fight against big tobacco took a major leap forward
when we filed a class-action lawsuit in October 1997 against 18
tobacco companies on behalf of all Nevada casino dealers. We
thought it important to establish our credentials in this war
against those who attack our health with their money, whether it
is big tobacco or big casinos who are holding the checkbook.
The Project we are proposing will organized into two main effort
groups; the Educational Effort Group; and the Political Action
Effort Group. The Educational Effort Group will direct its efforts
at four distinct groups, each requiring a different message and a
different way of delivering that message.
(1) Casino Employees.
Essentially, the two-fold message will be one of establishing
principles and promoting empowerment. The present employment
situation within casinos has the casino dealer working without
representation and without a group voice. Consequently, when
issues such as second hand smoke cry out for a consensus opinion,
there is none forthcoming. It is not because the employees have no
opinion to express. Quite the contrary, they have an opinion, but
they have no freedom to express it. Management has
institutionalized the suppression of free speech in the workplace
and that must be changed. It is the need to speak out to establish
and protect the right to a smoke-free workplace that must be the
central theme of the new "Gimme' Some Air" Project. We
intend to hold monthly seminars, first in Las Vegas, and then
throughout the state, to educate workers to the dangers of second
hand smoke, and then, on their federally guaranteed rights to
concerted activity to improve their working conditions and safety
on the job.
(2) Casino Licensees. Develop a
letter campaign directed at all Nevada casino licensees to inform
them that a statewide effort is underway to address the problem of
second hand smoke in the casino. The campaign will solicit their
voluntary cooperation in this effort and will ask that they
participate in a structured dialog to develop solutions to this
problem. Licensees who refuse a good faith effort will be the
subjects of a statewide petition drive to institute a suitability
hearing for the offending licensee before the Nevada Gaming
Commission.
(3) Casino Patrons. Develop a
media campaign asking casino patrons to express their feeling
regarding this issue to casino supervisors and managers.
(4) General Public. Develop a
media campaign directed at the general public carrying a message
that educates them to the fact that the certainty of future state
revenues from gaming depends on us maintaining a safe environment.
The fact that the dangers of second hand smoke are well known,
and, that, just as tobacco was aware of the dangers of cigarettes
and did nothing about it, the gaming industry likewise has similar
knowledge and therefore has an obligation to minimize or eliminate
these dangers. If they do not, eventually, they will be on the
receiving end of a huge liability judgment that will shake this
industry to its core.
While the educational action group is important, it is the
political action group that will actually provide the mechanism to
change Nevada law and get rid of the death-dealing effects of the
stealthy killer, second hand smoke. It is this group that will
direct the lobbying effort to develop legislation that will
install controls within the casino workplace to eliminate or
minimize the effects of second hand smoke. Additionally, they will
organize programs for petition drives and letter writing campaigns
to mobilize casino employees and the general public to influence
lawmakers on the need to revise Nevada statutes in this area.
The very nature of this project underscores one of the two
main purposes of the awarding of tobacco money to the states in
the first place. It was to direct to the states just compensation
for the costs inflicted upon them by the effects of tobacco usage.
The other, and the one we are dealing with in our project, is the
amelioration and limiting of the damage done by tobacco use. The
control and the eventual elimination of second hand smoke in our
casinos will do exactly that.
NRS 202.2491, which received a very minor facelift in the
last legislative session, delineates those areas of public
assembly where smoking is not permitted. The only significant
categories of public congregation that are missing from that
listing are the casinos. They are not on the list because the
casino lobby was working overtime to make sure they were exempt
from the law.. It is no accident that casinos receive leniency and
the legislature bends to their will. This special treatment by the
legislature is a travesty and should not be allowed. Our project
will correct this injustice.
Our state has approximately 70,000 casino dealers who
deserve to be recognized as first class citizens. One of the
primary functions of our GSA project will be to extend to casino
dealers and patrons alike the same protections they would enjoy in
any other location in the state but a casino. The irony of this
situation is that the casinos that provide the revenues which
support many of the state’s functions, is denied the protections
every other citizen of the state is granted. When we succeed it is
the dealers who will be the most immediate and direct
beneficiaries of the elimination of second hand smoke.
It is, however, our contention that the general health of
the industry will be improved from the efforts of our project and
that the casinos themselves, and therefore the state, will be
insulated and protected from future negative financial impact
caused by liability claims from present day patrons.
It is not necessary to measure the positive outcome of eliminating
the effects of second hand smoke. These facts have been fully
documented and are well known. In fact, the substantiation of all
the research done in this area is the very reason why the tobacco
bank vaults are now open for use by the states.
The only outcome that we need measure is the number of
casinos that eliminate second hand smoke. Of course, this whole
question hangs on the solution the legislature finally approves.
If they opt for only a partial solution, such as non-smoking
sections, then we will have to depend of Nevada's OSHA to develop
a procedure to measure the true outcome.
When one considers the depth of change in the workplace
that will occur when second hand smoke is no longer tolerated in
the casinos, and the other benefits derived by the incidental
empowerment of a large segment of our state’s workforce, the
cost is incredibly low. The reason why it is so low is that it is
simply triggering a phenomenon that represents the driving force
of our democracy. It is the creation of a standard which reflects
the needs of the people, and rejects the concept that narrow
special interests shall secretly control our political system.
It is difficult to argue that convincing the legislature to
do the right thing can really be innovative. It could be argued,
however, that the very system of our government that permits its
citizens the right to petition for the resolution of their
grievances, is, in itself, innovative. What is astounding is that
it has taken so long for our government to act on the well-known
dangers now being inflicted on the workers of this state.
We have always felt that by networking with other concerned
individuals and agencies we could amplify the results of our
efforts. Over the past several years we have worked with Nevada
OSHA, and specifically with Danny Evans, before his unfortunate
passing earlier this year. We also had a particularly good
relationship with Dr. Pritsos of UNR, whose work on the dangers of
ETS in the workplace is quite well known.
We, at the NFGE, and formerly the NCDA, have had twelve
years in the forefront of action on issues effecting Nevada's
casino dealers. This places us in the unique position of having
intimate knowledge of the second hand smoke issue, the subject of
our project. We can look at this problem from both sides of the
table, and are therefore able to navigate quite well on all sides
of this issue with a minimum of inertia.
In the best-case scenario, we hope to work ourselves out of
a job in one to two years. And if we achieve the goal of
eliminating second hand smoke from the casino, we will be happy to
see the sun set on our efforts. But, given this state's history
for the protection of the rights of casino employees, we feel that
the lobbying and educational elements of our project should and
will be continued until a completely safe workplace is attained.
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