Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2004 | 9:25 a.m.
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- Blue Chip Casino workers have authorized union leaders to call a strike if contract negotiations fail.
Some 140 members of Unite Here, Local 1 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, approved the strike authorization Monday, a day after the three-year contract expired. The union represents about 240 workers at the Lake Michigan riverboat.
Similar strike-vote meetings will be held next week for Harrah's Casino in East Chicago and Majestic Star and Trump casinos in Gary, said union spokeswoman Clare Fauke. Those contracts end on Oct. 31.
"We want our members to be as informed as possible because this is serious business, very serious," Fauke said.
The Chicago-based local represents hospitality employees such as housekeepers, servers, cooks and bartenders.
Health care coverage is a main issue in the negotiations.
Representatives of Blue Chip and its owner, Boyd Gaming, declined comment on the negotiations.
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