For Release: Thursday, September 17, 2009

UAW: Union members stand firm at Trump Plaza

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Union members are standing firm in support of union rights and collective bargaining in Atlantic City, UAW officials said today.

"A strong majority of workers voted in favor of forming a union at Trump Plaza two years ago," said Joe Ashton, director of UAW Region 9, which includes New Jersey. "And there is still strong majority support today for a union and for a fair contract."

Sixty-eight percent of workers voted for UAW representation in March 2007, winning the right to bargain with Trump Plaza over wages, benefits and working conditions. Trump Plaza management, however, has refused to bargain since that election, in violation of federal labor law.

"The real conflict here is between workers who want a union and an employer who refuses to bargain," said Ashton. "Two years is too long to wait between an election and bargaining. That's one of the reasons members of our union are working hard to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The arbitration provisions of the bill would prevent situations like this and encourage both sides to come to the bargaining table to reach fair settlements."

"The majority of my co-workers remain in support of our union and we're confident we are going to prevail and get a contract," said Marybeth Lichholt, who has been a dealer at Trump Plaza for 22 years. "We overwhelmingly voted in a fair election for union representation. Trump Plaza needs to respect our rights."

Media reports indicate some workers at Trump Plaza have signed petitions asking for a new vote on union representation. In addition to other legal requirements, a new vote cannot be scheduled unless it is requested by 30 percent of the workforce in an agreed-upon bargaining unit.

"Thirty percent is just about the same number of people who voted against forming a union two years ago," said UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, who directs the union's Technical, Office and Professional Organizing Department. "We respect all the hard-working casino dealers at Trump Plaza -- and it's important that management respect the principle of majority rule by sitting down to bargain with workers who won a fair election and won the right to negotiate with their employer.

"We believe the next vote at Trump Plaza should be on a fair contract proposal that will benefit all workers."