Casino Aztar workers win historic first contract

At a recent informational picket in Evansville, Ind., from left: Amy Richardson of UAW Local 2209, July Parker of UAW Local 862, Chrissy Zenker of UAW Local 3048 and Joe Merritt of UAW Local 3408

The 200 UAW members at Casino Aztar in Evansville, Ind., know the meaning of perseverance, and that is paying off as they won a first-ever contract and defeated a decertification attempt.

The table game dealers of UAW Local 3048 soundly ratified the contract on Jan. 26 following three years of negotiating. A week later, they faced a decertification vote. But members trumped the challenge, and on Feb. 3, they crushed the attempt supported by a minority of workers.

“That vote says it loud and clear that we intend to stay here and stand strong. The majority has spoken,” said Joey Merritt, a casino dealer.

“We were able to keep the four-day workweek that was extremely important to almost all of our dealers, and our members now have an insurance plan that is more affordable and employee-friendly than the one we had with the company,” Merritt said.

“Employees should be able to have a voice in their workplace, and they should be treated equally and fairly. A union contract helped us achieve some of these things,” Merritt added.

Workers at Casino Aztar first voted for UAW representation in October 2007. Casino management appealed the election results, which delayed bargaining.

The historic first contract comes after three years of casino stall tactics and tough negotiations.

“A lot of hard work has paid off at Casino Aztar; there is no disputing what the workers here want,” said Mo Davison, director of UAW Region 3, which includes Indiana and Kentucky.

“Not only have the workers continued to fight, but the community has continued to stand on their side. That has been a very important factor of this success,” Davison added.

Directed by UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, the union’s Gaming Department represents about 9,000 casino workers, primarily in Indiana, Michigan, Connecticut and New Jersey.

In Michigan, dealers, servers and other workers at the MGM Grand Detroit, Greektown Casino and MotorCity Casino are members of UAW Local 7777. They are preparing to negotiate a new contract to replace the current agreement, which expires in October.

In Ledyard, Conn., UAW Local 2121 members at Foxwoods Resort Casino are working on implementation of their first contract, ratified in April 2010. The Foxwoods pact is the country’s first dealer contract negotiated under tribal law and is a step toward stabilizing labor relations at Native American-owned casinos across the country.

At the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., UAW Local 8888 members ratified a first contract in August 2010.

Also in Atlantic City, members of UAW Local 3170, which represents dealers at Caesars Casino, ratified a first contract in November 2010. Slot technicians and casino workers at Trump Marina Hotel and Casino, as well as Bally’s have voted for UAW representation, and they are in the process of negotiating a first contract.

“There is growing excitement among casino workers throughout the country over what has been accomplished in these workplaces,” said Ashton. “Not only do these casino workers stand in solidarity with one another, but they also have generated incredible support throughout the industry and in the communities where they live and work.”

Sandra Davis