by James Parks, Nov 26, 2007

A wave of dealers at casinos around the country are joining unions. Over the weekend, dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino, the largest private employer in Connecticut, won a voice at work when they voted to join the UAW.

Sherry Lee, a nine-year dealer at the casino, sums up why she and her 2,600 co-workers sought to form a union: 

Casino dealers at Foxwoods came together because we deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Our success is an example of what can be accomplished when people work together. Casino dealers sent a clear message today: We are united, regardless of race, ethnicity or language. We stayed strong and voted “Yes” for a say in our working conditions.

The victory at Foxwoods comes a month after a strong majority of workers at Casino Aztar in Evansville, Ind., also voted for UAW. The dealers and floor supervisors voted for the union after expressing their concerns over pay, health benefits, treatment on the job and health and safety.

The Aztar ballot count had been delayed while the National Labor Relations Board considered and rejected an appeal by Columbia Sussex Corp., Aztar’s owner, to set aside the election.

Maurice “Mo” Davison, who directs UAW Region 3, which includes Indiana and Kentucky, says the Aztar workers

are fighting a battle that we know well—to have a real say about their wages, benefits and working conditions. We know from experience that no matter what management says during an election, workers are better off when they’re part of a union and can negotiate on an equal footing with their employer. 

The casino dealers at Foxwoods and Aztar join thousands of gaming employees who already are UAW members in Detroit, Atlantic City, N.J. and Newport, R.I. Within the past month, UAW members in Detroit ratified new contracts at the city’s three casinos. 

UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, who directs the union’s Technical, Office and Professional Department, says the Foxwoods and Aztar wins are part of a growing national movement for workplace justice.

Dealers all over the country are joining together to improve their job, and the industry as a whole is growing at the same time.

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