Friday, Oct. 1, 2004 | 9:18 a.m.
ATLANTIC CITY -- A casino hotel workers union threatening a strike against 10 of the city's 12 casinos reached tentative agreement Thursday night with Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, but planned to walk off the job today at seven other hotels.
Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union reached the agreement with representatives of Trump about 11 p.m., averting a strike at Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina and Trump Plaza casinos, said union spokesman Chris Magoulas.
Those employees will vote next week on whether to ratify the agreement, the terms of which were not disclosed.
But about 10,000 members of Local 54 -- from bell captains to bartenders, pastry chefs to porters -- will walk off the job today at Harrah's Atlantic City, Showboat Hotel-Casino, Bally's Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, the Atlantic City Hilton, Resorts Atlantic City, and the Tropicana Casino and Resort.
Unaffected would be the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which struck its own four-year contract with Local 54 before it opened last year, and the Sands Hotel & Casino, which signed a "me, too" agreement, under which it agreed to abide by the first contract agreement Local 54 reaches.
Talks were also held Thursday with representatives of Resorts Atlantic City but failed to produce an agreement. No more talks were scheduled.
Union members spent Thursday gearing up for the strike, which could deal a blow to New Jersey's $4.4 billion casino industry and make life difficult for gamblers by forcing them to make do despite cutbacks in housekeeping, restaurant offerings and other services.
"It'll be pretty ugly. I'm glad I won't be here," said Kathie Stokes, 40, of Yorktown, Va., as she checked out of the Tropicana on Thursday.
The union, which represents about 17,000 workers in the city, has remained on the job since the expiration of a five-year contract Sept. 15, promising to strike Oct. 1 if no new contract was reached.
At issue is the practice of subcontracting by casinos, which lease space to restaurants and bars without requiring them to use union workers.
Local 54 wants an end to the practice, saying the use of nonunion help undermines the standard of living for workers. Casinos say it is the union's job to sign up workers in those operations, not the casinos' job to require it.
The union, which negotiated separately with each of the casino companies, is also at odds with them over the length of the proposed deal -- Local 54 wants a three-year pact, the casinos want a five-year contract.
"It looks like we're going to have a work stoppage, and it's unfortunate," said Dave Jonas, vice president of Atlantic City operations for Harrah's Entertainment, which runs two casinos here. "We think we've put out a real aggressive offer that has never even been considered."
Caesars Entertainment, which runs Bally's Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City and the Atlantic City Hilton casinos, took out a full-page advertisement in The Press of Atlantic City on Thursday that told workers it had agreed to union demands regarding subcontracting, wage increases, the continuation of free health care for Local 54 members and "successorship" language that would force any casino that is sold to honor its existing agreement with the union when the new owners take over.
"What would you and your family gain by going out on strike?" said the ad. "The answer is simple ... nothing."
Tropicana Casino and Resort issued a statement Thursday, saying it remained hopeful an agreement could be reached. The casino, however, added it was pleased that a judge left in place limits on picketing by Local 54, restricting the number of pickets and ordering that strikers stay 20 feet from Tropicana's doors.
But union members, who overwhelmingly endorsed a strike in a vote two weeks ago, said they were prepared to endure the hardships it might bring.
Chanting and singing, alternating between English and Spanish, union members working in a strike headquarters tent in Local 54's parking lot prepared picket signs.
"No Contract, No Peace," said one. "Contract Now," said another.
"Are we ready to strike?" one woman yelled through a bullhorn.
"Yes!" the workers replied in unison.
"Are we ready to strike?" she said.
"Yes!" they replied
"If we don't go on strike, what's at stake is the potential eradication of the union," said Carla Corr, 43, a banquet server at Tropicana. "Anyone who thinks we won't be subcontracted out in the future has their head in the sand."
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