Strike averted at 4 Atlantic City, NJ, casinos – threat remains for 1
A strike has been averted at four of Atlantic City's casino's while a strike deadline still looms for a fifth one.
Local 54 of the Unite Here union announced a settlement has been reached with the three casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment -- Caesars, Harrah's and Tropicana -- just before the midnight deadline.
A deal was reached with Borgota earlier in the day.
That leaves just the Hard Rock Casino without an agreement, which faces a Sunday deadline.
Two other casinos, Bally's and the Ocean Casino Resort, have reached so-called "me-too" agreements in which they pledge to adopt the terms of contracts reached by the bigger properties in town, meaning they will not face a strike.
Details of the new agreements have not been released.
The union had repeatedly said they were seeking "significant" salary increases, but did not publicly reveal the increases they were seeking.
In previous contracts, union leaders say, they focused more on maintaining health care benefits at the expense of salary gains. But in the current climate, they say, workers need higher pay to keep up with the rising cost of gasoline, food, rent and other expenses.
A strike could have been devastating to an industry that is still recovering from pandemic losses. While online gaming and sports betting have hit record levels, the casinos make a much smaller percentage off those bets. In-person gaming, where the gaming halls make the most money, have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com
Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.