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Neither side
budging in 3-year standoff between
casinos, United Auto Workers in Atlantic City
By ERIK ORTIZ Staff
Writer | Posted: Sunday, March 7, 2010
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In this file
photo, Togba Porte, left, of New York City
rallies unionized casino workers picketing
near the Boardwalk at Brighton Park in
Atlantic City, Thursday, July 30, 2009 to
protest slow contract talks with the Bally’s
and Caesars casinos. Casino dealers and slot
technicians represented by the United Auto
Workers were joined in Atlantic City by
hundreds of AFCSME members from New Jersey,
New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania, the
unions said. Photo by: Sean M. Fitzgerald |
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ATLANTIC CITY — At the height of last year’s
tourism season, the United Auto Workers
trumpeted its support for casino dealers and
lashed out at management for the lack of a
first contract. The union’s frustration was
splashed across highway billboards, in
television and print ads, and was evident in
Boardwalk rallies.
That assertive approach has become
restrained over the winter months,
suggesting a change in strategy — or a
temporary lull — on the part of the UAW. But
while the delivery has changed, the reality
has not: The Detroit-based UAW won its first
election in Atlantic City three years ago
this month, but it has yet to get workers a
contract. |
Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and
Bally’s Atlantic City — two of the four casinos
where dealers voted to organize in 2007 — have
appealed the election results and are refusing to
negotiate. The UAW’s contract committees have
alleged that management at the other two casinos —
Caesars Atlantic City and Tropicana Casino and
Resort — has bargained halfheartedly.
Eventually, either some sort of contract will be
reached or the union will lose its foothold in
Atlantic City.
While observers can only speculate on the outcome,
they agree that the conflict needs to be resolved
soon for the sake of the resort’s troubled gaming
market.
“I think everyone realizes that unless we hang
together, we’ll surely hang separately,” said Israel
Posner, executive director of the Institute for
Gaming Management at The Richard Stockton College of
New Jersey.
For now, the UAW in Atlantic City appears to be
lying low. Dealers with the union’s contract
committee declined to comment when contacted last
month, and repeated calls to the regional director
and the headquarters in Detroit were not returned.
The UAW claimed a decisive victory in March 2007 at
Caesars, where dealers voted to join the union by a
4-1 margin. That same month, the union won another
election at Trump Plaza.
By the end of the year, more than 2,100 dealers,
including those at Bally’s and Tropicana, had voted
to organize. Slot technicians at Tropicana and
Caesars also voted to join the UAW in separate
elections.
Track record
Other unions tried to represent dealers in the
resort before, but the UAW’s message seemed to
resonate: Stronger wages and benefits, job security
and a commitment to banning smoking on casino
floors. The UAW’s track record showed success,
having organized casino dealers in Detroit since
1999.
The UAW also has the money. Its advertising campaign
in Atlantic City has cost millions of dollars,
although an exact figure is unavailable. While the
downsizing of the U.S. auto industry has sapped
national membership 20 percent from 2006 to 2008,
the union’s net assets still top $1.2 billion, a
2008 U.S. Department of Labor disclosure form shows.
Dealer members in Atlantic City are not paying dues
until a first contract is reached.
Meanwhile, Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., which owns
Bally’s and Caesars, began responding publicly last
spring with ads deflecting UAW criticism. One UAW ad
urged tourists to “Go to Atlantic City ... Just
Don’t Go to Bally’s or Caesars.” Harrah’s shot back
with its own ads, such as, “Don’t let the UAW turn
Atlantic City into the next Detroit.” Bally’s is
also appealing the election results, while Caesars
management has held more than 60 bargaining sessions
with the UAW’s contract committee since early 2008,
Harrah’s spokeswoman Alyce Parker said.
A meeting this year included a discussion on
computerized scheduling and a cash-bonus program
that would pay as much as $500 to an employee who
succeeds in attracting new business. Both issues,
however, are unrelated to the main bargaining
process, Harrah’s said.
“We are focused on negotiating an agreement that is
fair to all of our employees and allows us to remain
competitive in this difficult economic environment
and with increasing entertainment and gaming options
in neighboring states,” Parker said. “It is
unfortunate that the UAW has focused much of our
discussion on interim bargaining issues, such as
company-wide changes to the pharmacy plan, rather
than longer-term issues that would define our
working relationship.”
First contracts
The UAW has accused Caesars, as well as Tropicana,
the other casino where management is negotiating, of
“dragging their feet.”
A Tropicana spokeswoman said last month that the
casino is “bargaining in good faith and will
continue to do so.”
But the question remains: How long can talks go on?
There are few comprehensive studies on how long it
can take to negotiate a first contract and the
success rate. One study released in 2000 by Cornell
University found that of the 600 union elections
sampled, slightly more than half resulted in a first
contract.
Of the elections in which a contract agreement had
not been reached, most unions said negotiations were
ongoing, although 20 percent said the union was no
longer certified as the bargaining unit.
The UAW is asking for a neutral third party to help
mediate the Caesars contract, a proposal made by
state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic.
“I have encouraged, and continue to encourage, both
sides,” Whelan said. “Frankly, the UAW has seemed
more willing to go to a third party than Harrah’s.
It takes two.”
Achieving a ‘payoff’
Unions in general need to consistently show progress
or risk losing support, said Adrienne Eaton, a
professor with the Labor Studies and Employment
Relations Department at Rutgers University.
When a union’s effort stalls, “they’re incurring
costs and they’re not demonstrating their
effectiveness,” Eaton said. “They’re investing
resources that are not paying off, and the work
force is not seeing the payoff.”
Achieving that payoff can be harder for dealers, as
opposed to other casino employees, such as
housekeepers and cocktail servers, who are also
unionized.
Negotiating with dealers can be complex because
their position allows them to make a lot more money
through customer tips, said Posner, of Stockton’s
Institute for Gaming Management.
“It’s very different when you’re management and
you’re negotiating with a room attendant who’s maybe
making $11 an hour versus a dealer who is being paid
$8 an hour but is making closer to $20 an hour or
more,” Posner said.
But while the UAW in Atlantic City has yet to snag
its members a contract, its local in Connecticut
worked out a first contract in January for dealers
at Foxwoods Resort Casino after more than a year of
negotiations.
Despite the economic pressures, the dealers and the
casino were able to find common ground, said Richard
Hankins, the lead attorney who represented Foxwoods
on behalf of the tribal owners, the Mashantucket
Indians.
“It took us 14 months with intense, good-faith
negotiations to reach an agreement on everything
that needed to be covered,” said Hankins, a partner
at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP in Atlanta. “Both
sides are happy where it is and are delighted to be
moving forward.”
The dealers and the casinos in Atlantic City should
be able to resolve their differences as well, Whelan
said.
“Obviously it would be good both for the company and
the workers to get a contract. And by extension,
good for Atlantic City,” he said.
Key dates of the UAW in Atlantic City
November 2006: The United Auto Workers union begins
organizing effort s in Atlantic City.
March 2007: The union wins certification to
represent dealers at Caesars Atlantic City and Trump
Plaza Hotel and Casino.
June 2007: Dealers at Bally’s Atlantic City vote to
organize.
August 2007: Dealers at Tropicana Casino and Resort
and slot technicians at Caesars vote to organize.
October 2007: Tropicana slot technicians vote to
organize.
January 2008: The UAW’s contact committee begins
bargaining with Caesars and Tropicana.
July 2009: Caesars and Bally’s dealers authorize a
strike, although no date is set.
September 2009: A petition to decertify the UAW as
the union representing Trump Plaza dealers is
rejected.
Contact Erik Ortiz: 609-272-7253
EOrtiz@pressofac.com
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