PICKETING PROMISED TODAY BY ATLANTIC CITY CASINO WORKERS
By Jamie Fentress and the Associated Press
If you’re still down the shore for an extended Memorial Day vacay, expect to see pickets today in front of Atlantic City casinos.
The city’s main casino workers union say they’ll begin picketing to force a new higher wage contract..
Local 54 of the Unite Here union said Tuesday its members will form a picket line on the Boardwalk in front of the Tropicana casino tonight.
Contracts with the nine Atlantic City casinos expired at 12:01 a.m. today, and by midday Tuesday it was clear that no breakthrough was likely to happen in talks with two of the largest casino companies:
Caesars Entertainment, which owns Caesars, Harrah’s and Tropicana, and MGM Resorts International, which owns the city’s leading property, the Borgata.
“We’re looking forward to our action Wednesday night,” said union president Bob McDevitt. “We have a long way to go before we get a contract. We’re not far enough down the road for me to give you any kind of a prediction yet.”
MGM declined comment; representatives of Caesars did not respond to a message from the AP seeking comment Tuesday.
