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• Union to form committee for Borgata negotiations 1/31/2007. Press of Atlantic City
  The area's largest casino union, UNITE-HERE's Local 54, has begun forming a committee which will oversee the union's contract renewal with the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa this September. The union intends to organize between 120 and 180 workers to help negotiate a contract that is expected to set the standard for the other 11 Atlantic City casinos, who will not renew their contracts until 2009.

  Local 54 wants to find at least one committee member for every 20 members, whose responsibility will be to keep those workers informed as negotiations unfold. So far, according to union president Robert McDevitt, the union has signed 54 members for the committee. Union representatives have been scouting the Borgata for workers whom they believe are solid leaders and well-respected among their peers.

• Sands offer upsets employees 10/31/2006. South Jersey Courier Post
  Catherine Ramminger is not a happy camper these days.

  She has less than two weeks left before she and 2,100 other Sands employees get their walking papers when the 26-year-old casino hotel closes its doors in preparation for a takeover by Pinnacle Entertainment on Nov. 17.

  But what upsets her even more is the possibility she'll receive just a week's pay as severance while she hunts for another job. That's the latest offer on the table by the Sands, according to Robert McDevitt, president of Local 54 of UNITE HERE, the union that represents hotel and restaurant employees including Ramminger. Long-term nonunion employees receive a week's pay for each year of service, with contributions from both the Sands and Pinnacle.

• Casinos go dark in Atlantic City 7/6/2006. Seattle Times/AP
  ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The dice stopped rolling, dealers quit shuffling and slot machines fell silent Wednesday as New Jersey's casinos closed for the first time, the latest victims of a five-day state government shutdown that showed no signs of ending soon.

  In the first mass closure in the 28-year history of Atlantic City's legalized gambling trade, all 12 casinos went dark. With no state budget, New Jersey cannot pay its state employees, including casino inspectors who keep tabs on the money.

• Casino Workers Demand an End to the NJ Budget Crisis Atlantic City Workers want to get back to work 7/6/2006
  July 6, 2006 -- (Trenton, NJ): Thousand of UNITE HERE members gather today at the steps of the State House in Trenton to demand that the ...

UNITE HERE represents more than 90,000 workers in the gaming industry in the United States. We represent food & beverage workers, cashiers, slot changepeople, casino porters and housekeeping workers in commercial and tribal casinos in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, California, and Washington, in addition to workers at racetracks throughout the country.

The number of gaming workers that UNITE HERE represents has grown substantially over the last decade, as the Union pursued strategies designed to expand our membership and power in the industry alongside the national explosion of gaming. The Union has been successful in taking advantage of the strong presence our membership gives us in the industry’s leading companies as they have entered new gaming markets, like Detroit and Chicago.

Our membership in the gaming sector is highly concentrated in five leading gaming companies. Over two thirds of HERE’s gaming members work for one of these five employers: MGM Mirage, Mandalay Resort Group, Park Place Entertainment, Harrah’s Entertainment, and Trump Resorts. We also represent workers in smaller riverboat companies, racetrack operators and card clubs, giving us experience with gaming operators large and small.

In addition to wild growth, the gaming industry has experienced a wave of consolidation that has left the same five companies controlling almost 50% of the gaming revenues generated in North America each year outside of tribal casinos. That contrasts with 10-12 companies who were responsible for a majority of gaming revenues in 1995.

Over the past few years, the fastest growing segment of the gaming industry can be found on Native American tribal lands. Indian gaming in California alone is expected to grow almost 400% between 2000 and 2004. HERE has been at the forefront of political, legislative and organizing efforts to secure the right to organize for workers in tribal casinos. HERE has also been supportive on both the state and national levels to help achieve the goals of tribes who agree not to fight the workers’ right to organize.

In California, the Union was instrumental in winning the right to organize in tribal casinos and resorts through protections in the compact process, and has negotiated a number of card check/neutrality agreements. More recently in New York, the Union’s political work contributed to legislation requiring card check language for Union organizing at the proposed tribal casinos in the state. The Union has also entered into a card check/neutrality agreement with Park Place Entertainment, which has an agreement to manage a casino in the Catskills for the Mohawk Tribe.

UNITE HERE has worked closely with the major gaming companies on issues of mutual interest, including health care, job training, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, attempts to levy unfair taxes on the industry and its workers, and other political and legislative issues.

The Union has demonstrated over the years that, when gaming jobs are Union, they can be good quality jobs which contribute to a better standard of living for service workers and their communities. The Union will continue to build power in this industry by employing smart organizing strategies which take advantage of the strength of our gaming members and our understanding of where the industry is going.