Most of the casino workers at Atlantic City signed four-year agreements with their employers before the July 4th Independence Day. Yet, the Golden Nugget and Resorts’ Unite Here Local 54 members claim that the gaming operator hasn’t fulfilled the terms about offering high wages.
The casino and resorts’ workers have warned that they will strike if the properties fail to follow the terms that the other seven casinos in the region agreed on with the workers union a few days ago.
Hard Rock International, Caesars Entertainment, and MGM Resorts agreed with the union to increase their workers’ hourly wages from $16 to $18 per hour. This will be a 12.5 percent raise for each union member that works at the casinos. Still, the wage will rise to $22 per hour by the contract’s final year.
Caesars runs Caesars, Tropicana, and Harrah’s while MGM Resorts runs Borgata. Bally’s and Ocean Casinos have also agreed with Unite Here to follow their labor terms until 2026. Even so, Golden Nugget and Resorts hasn’t started implementing the collective bargaining agreements that the other Atlantic City casinos ratified.
The Strike Is Supported
Workers at Golden Nugget and Resorts are likely to strike once their contracts with the gaming properties expire on July 22. Unite Here claims that the venues have 1,000 employees who are its members.
Even so, the current stand about the two casinos and union representatives’ is uncertain. Resorts Atlantic City’s CEO and President, Mark Giannantonio, stated that Local 54 Union is fond of authorizing strikes before it holds negotiations. Besides, it has expressed its disinterest in negotiating further.
The union will present the four-year contract terms that it created with the other seven local casinos to Golden Nugget and Resorts and will expect it to sign them. It made a press release stating that it wants its members at the two gaming venues to enjoy the benefits that workers from the other seven casinos have. J. Eger, Golden Nugget casino’s bartender added that they won’t return to work until their employers agree to the terms.
Negotiations Between Unite Here Local 54 and Casino Officials
The last talks that the union held with the casinos’ officials ended without resolutions after their workers’ contracts ended in May. This prompted the union to threaten to strike during the July 4 holiday. But, Tropicana, Harrah’s, Caesars, and Borgata signed new labor agreements a few hours before the holiday.
The workers union stated that the contracts are the best that casino employees have ever seen. For instance, their base hourly pay rose to $18 an hour instantly. The contracts offered them pension benefits, family healthcare and some clauses provided job protection.
Golden Nugget and Resorts Are Struggling
Atlantic City casinos haven’t fully recovered from the Coronavirus pandemic. Statistics state that land-based casinos are generating revenue that is less than what they earned in 2019.
Yet, sports gambling and online gaming are generating more gross gaming revenue in New Jersey. The operators share most of their online revenue with third-party vendors such as FanDuel and DraftKings which run gambling platforms.
Eight of the nine Atlantic City casinos had significant growth last year. Even so, Bally’s lost $13.2 million despite having a huge renovation after Bally’s Corporation purchased it from Caesars Entertainment in November 2020.
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