Bally’s Casino dealers join growing movement for union rights

Atlantic City – In another sign of a growing movement for workplace rights in Atlantic City casinos, dealers at Bally’s Casino today filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a union representation election.

Workers at Bally’s are now the fourth group of casino dealers who have taken steps to form unions as part of the UAW, the only union in America that currently represents dealers in the gaming industry.

“All across Atlantic City, dealers are coming together, united by the common desire to have a real say in securing better pay and benefits and job security,” said Joe Ashton, director of UAW Region 9, which includes New Jersey, Pennsylvania and upstate New York. “They’re standing up for basic fairness, and the UAW is proud to stand with them.”

An overwhelming majority of dealers at Caesars casino voted in favor of union representation on March 17. On March 31, an overwhelming majority of dealers at Trump Plaza also voted in favor of the UAW.

A majority of casino dealers at Trump Marina became the third group to organize when they filed a petition for a union representation election with the NLRB on March 30.

Yesterday, Trump Marina dealers reached an agreement with management for the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union representation election on Friday, May 11. All full-time and regular part-time dealers, dual-rate dealers/supervisors and simulcast employees are eligible to vote in the election, which will take place in the Biscayne Room at the Trump Marina.

At Bally’s, the bargaining unit will include full and part-time dealers, dual-rate supervisors, simulcast and keno employees. A strong majority of workers in these job classifications have signed union authorization cards.

“A strong majority of dealers at Bally’s have sent a clear message. The dealers’ union movement in Atlantic City is growing larger and more powerful,” said UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, who directs organizing efforts for the UAW’s Technical, Office and Professional (TOP) Department.

Bally’s is owned by Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., which also owns the Caesars casino in Atlantic City.