Atlantic City officials are urging area casinos to avoid a possible strike organized by Local 54 of the Unite Here union. Workers are still seeking new contracts to replace several that expired on June 1.
Union officials authorized a July 1 strike against Borgata and the three casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment−Caesars, Harrah’s and Tropicana−as well as a July 3 strike against Hard Rock, if new deals are not in place by those dates. Another vote would have to be taken before a strike could begin.
At a recent city council meeting, members passed a resolution supporting union workers and appealing to the casinos to avert a strike by “urging casino employers to raise wages and staffing and negotiate in good faith to avert a strike.” Councilman Kaleem Shabazz said, “Inflation is pressuring working people, and we want the union workers and families to be made whole. Atlantic City needs a peaceful summer free of strife and uncertainty. The council encourages continued good faith negotiations to reach a peaceful resolution.”
Union officials said they are seeking “significant” wage increases in the next contract to help workers deal with financial stress caused by Covid-19 and inflation. Observers said the union has considerable clout, considering that the upcoming July Fourth weekend is typically one of the busiest times of the year for Atlantic City’s casinos. The city is also expecting thousands of attendees for the national NAACP conference in mid-July.
In addition, the continuing labor shortage has left the casinos with less staff than normal, even without a strike. The last major strike in Atlantic City happened October 1, 2004—at that time, about 10,000 hotel and restaurant workers walked off the job and walked a picket line for more than a month. Today, workers number about 22,000, down from 26,000 pre-pandemic.
