Casino workers packed into Trenton on Thursday, as the debate continues over whether New Jersey should include casinos in its indoor smoking ban. Some workers testified in support of a bill before Assembly lawmakers while recovering from cancer. Other casino workers opposed the bill, saying it would cost jobs.
The bill would eliminate the smoking-ban exemption for casinos and simulcasting facilities under New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act of 2006.
“I went for a biopsy, and it turned out that I had a nodule of cancer. I just had it removed, as you can see. This isn’t a necklace, it’s a surgical scar. I’m out on medical leave now,” said Holly Deibler, who has worked in Atlantic City casinos for 35 years. “I don’t want to leave my job, but all the oncologists involved have told me that it’s the choice of life or death at this point.”
Bob McDevitt, president of Unite Here Local 54, the union that represents casino workers, said, “This is a danger to my members, and their jobs.”
Gov. Phil Murphy has said in the past he would sign the bill if the Legislature passes it and sends it to his desk.
