For Release: Monday, November 19, 2007

Workers at Casino Aztar vote for union representation

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A strong majority of workers at Casino Aztar voted for union representation. In an election on Oct. 27, full-time and regular part-time dealers, as well as dual-rate supervisors and full floor supervisors, voted 106 to 59 to become part of the UAW. The ballot count had been delayed until the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., rejected an appeal by Casino Aztar’s management company, Columbia Sussex Corp., to set aside the election.

“The election victory is great news for Casino Aztar dealers and all workers in the gaming industry,” said UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, who heads organizing for the union’s Technical, Office and Professional Department. “The courage and determination of the workers in Evansville demonstrate why the growing national movement of casino workers to join unions has been so successful.”

Dealers’ concerns include pay, health benefits, treatment on the job, and health and safety.

“We welcome the Casino Aztar workers into the UAW family,” said Maurice “Mo” Davison, who directs UAW Region 3, which includes Indiana and Kentucky. “They are fighting a battle that we know well – to have a real say about their wages, benefits and working conditions. We know from experience that no matter what management says during an election, workers are better off when they’re part of a union and can negotiate on an equal footing with their employer. We look forward to a positive bargaining relationship with Columbia Sussex.”

The victory at Casino Aztar comes as a wave of dealers at casinos around the country are joining unions. Thousands of dealers in Atlantic City have voted to join the UAW in NLRB elections this year as part of a citywide organizing campaign. In Connecticut, dealers and other gaming employees at Foxwoods Casino, the largest casino in the United States, will vote Saturday.

Columbia Sussex Corp., which owns Casino Aztar, also owns the Tropicana in Atlantic City, N.J., where more than 80 percent of dealers and dual-rate dealers voted for UAW representation on Aug. 26.

The UAW represents more than 6,000 gaming workers in Michigan, Rhode Island and New Jersey.