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A yes vote does
not mean employees would walk off the job immediately, but it
would allow their bargaining committees to call for the measure
if negotiations break down.
Four Atlantic City casinos closed in 2014 and remain shuttered,
in part because of gambling competition from neighboring states.
There are signs of improvement at the eight that remain,
however. Atlantic City casino revenues increased 2.7 percent to
$802.6 million in the first quarter of 2016, according to state
data.
Last summer, workers at the Trump Taj Mahal, founded by Donald
Trump but now owned by billionaire investor Carl Icahn's Icahn
Enterprises LP, agreed to allow a strike if needed but have yet
to call one, according to Unite Here Local 54, the union
representing the workers.
Thursday's strike vote pertains to the Tropicana casino and two
properties, Caesars Atlantic City and Bally's Atlantic City,
currently owned by bankrupt Caesars Entertainment Operating
Company Inc.
Also included in the vote is another Caesars property, Harrah's
Atlantic City, controlled by a separate unit not in bankruptcy..
Altogether, an affirmative vote on Thursday would mean that
about 6,000 workers across five casinos would be authorized to
walk off the job. The polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Unite Here said workers agreed to wage freezes during the
recession, and now those with 25 years on the job have had only
80 cents in total raises over the last 12 years.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the union's appeal
of a lower court ruling allowing the Taj Mahal to break its
contract in order to secure a bankruptcy deal.
Separately, a U.S. judge on Wednesday temporarily halted
lawsuits seeking $11.4 billion in damages from Caesars
Entertainment Corp. in the bankruptcy of its operating unit.
(Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Editing by David
Gregorio)
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