Press of Atlantic City
Local 54 approves Harrah's Entertainment contract

By EMILY PREVITI Staff Writer, 609-272-7221 | Posted: Monday, September 28, 2009

ATLANTIC CITY - Local 54 of UNITE-HERE members at four casinos approved a two-year contract Monday that will maintain employee health and retirement benefits, grant raises to most employees and boost protections for workers facing layoffs amid a recession and looming competition from out-of-state gaming halls.

About 1,000 of 4,000 workers at Harrah's Entertainment's casinos - Bally's Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah's Resort and Showboat Casino Hotel - voted at the Atlantic City Convention Center in three shifts Monday, three days after a 161-worker committee reached consensus with casino management.

About 97 percent of votes favored the agreement, according to Local 54 President Bob McDevitt. He said the contract is for two years rather than the five-year contract that expired two weeks ago.

"A shorter-term contract is better because it's impossible to predict the economy four or five years out and negotiate wage increases from the bottom of the economy," he said.

The contract allows workers a yearlong leave of absence, akin to a voluntary and temporary layoff that does not count toward the two-year window during which laid off employees get first crack at rehiring should their position become available again.

Those who are laid off get priority hiring status for openings at sister properties, where they would retain their wages, vacation time and other benefits. If workers decide they do not want the other job, they get a $1,500 severance payment .

To balance that and other terms in the new contract, casinos will pay about 25 percent of what they had been paying into the severance fund effective Thursday until September 2011, when the current rate will be restored, McDevitt said.

The agreement grants raises to all employees except banquet and the highest paid workers, who are scheduled to renegotiate their salaries in a year. Harrah's also agreed to continue to cover all increases for health and pension benefit costs.

"Harrah's is proud ... (that) this contract was developed and agreed to in a few short weeks, and without disruption to the business and employees," said Don Marrandino, eastern divisional president for Harrah's, in a statement. "In this challenging economic and completive environment, we must all work together ... so that the casinos can continue to create jobs for thousands of people who rely on their businesses for their livelihood."

The past month of negotiations between Local 54 and the casinos seemed tame relative to the summer advertising campaign and picket lines launched by the United Auto Workers as that union seeks to finalize its first contracts with dealers at Bally's and Caesars.

Local 54's 30-year relationship with the casino industry proved a bigger advantage than appearing arguably more reasonable than the UAW, McDevitt said.

He also credited lessons learned during Local 54's last round of negotiations with Harrah's in 2004 and the accompanying monthlong strike.

Local 54 represents about 15,000 service and hotel workers across the resort, including food and beverage servers, housekeepers and dishwashers.

Contracts between Local 54 and 10 of 11 casinos employing its members expire this year. The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa re-negotiated in 2008.

McDevitt said Monday he was unsure when other casinos would reach agreements.

"We're going to reach out to Trump properties and ... we'll follow up with Tropicana," he said. "We want it resolved as soon as possible in light of the challenges for the industry."

In addition to a shaky economy and competition from casinos in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, McDevitt said the resort is gearing up for discussion set to resume in October about the smoking ban in all resort casinos.

City Council approved a smoking ban in April 2008. Six months later, amid falling casino revenue, council eased the smoking restriction to 25 percent of casino floors for a year.

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