Atlantic City casino workers are ready to walk off the job if they don’t get a new contract. Members of Local 54 of the Unite Here union voted almost unanimously Wednesday night to authorize a strike if no deal is reached by the beginning of July. Contracts with the Borgata and the three casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment — Caesars, Harrah’s and Tropicana — expired more than two weeks ago.
Workers have been picketing since then but have now given their negotiating committee the power to call a strike if they don’t get higher wages amid growing inflation. They’re also asking for casinos to stop subcontracting workers to fill positions for less money.
NJ Spotlight News reached out to the Borgata and Caesars Entertainment but has not yet heard back. Jeff Payne, a server at Caesars and who is on the negotiation committee for a new contract, said the workers are trying everything to avoid a strike.
“This just gives us that upper hand, knowing that the membership is behind us. We had over 96% vote for a strike. So if that’s what we have to do, we’re going to do that,” Payne said.
