UNITE HERE is the largest union for casino workers. We negotiate contracts that bring gaming employees solidly into the middle class.
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What is a Union?
A union is an organization of employees who band together to negotiate with their employer over wages, benefits and other aspects of work. Workers with similar interests or concerns join a union to get more power at the bargaining table and ensure that their voice is heard.
The main function of a union is to bring workers together to improve their working conditions, such as negotiating higher pay, safer workplaces and more flexible hours. While unions are usually viewed as an alternative to management, they are not in competition with it. They are designed to balance out the power imbalance that exists between management and employees.
When a worker decides that they want to form a union, they will start by talking to colleagues about their concerns. This will usually lead to the formation of an organizing committee, which will discuss their ideas with more co-workers and evaluate support for their cause. The committee will also determine which co-workers should be part of the union’s bargaining unit, and it may be helpful to include employees from a diverse range of backgrounds (such as full-timers and part-timers, office-based and remote employees).
Once enough co-workers sign authorization cards, the union will file an election petition with the NLRB. Once the NLRB approves the petition, it will set the date for a secret ballot election. If the union receives a majority of the votes in the election, it will be recognized by the company as its exclusive collective-bargaining representative.
A trade union is an independent entity that gets its funding through regularly imposed fees called union dues. These fees are typically used to pay for the union’s head office, legal team and other costs associated with running the union. Many unions also support a specific political party that represents the interests of their members, with most American unions being aligned with the Democratic Party.
Why Become a Union Member?
Whether you work in a casino, bingo hall, lottery or sports betting shop, you can become a union member and benefit from the power of a strong, organized workforce. The national scope and power of UNITE HERE has resulted in groundbreaking contracts for casino workers across the country. Rtp Agb99 Hari Ini
Casino workers rely on their union for a number of reasons. A casino union helps protect their health care, wages and working conditions. It also enables them to negotiate for higher salaries, more job security and better benefits. Union members also benefit from the support of their coworkers, which can be an invaluable tool when facing tough economic times or workplace challenges.
UNITE HERE is the largest casino labor union in North America. It represents nearly 100,000 gaming industry workers in the United States and Canada, including casino dealers, slot attendants, cage associates and count room associates; casino kitchen workers; table games supervisors; keno, simulcast and jai alai employees; hotel and retail clerks and bellhops; and security officers. The union is also active in the emerging iGaming market.
The casino industry has been under pressure to improve pay for its workers. While casino revenue is up overall, online gambling takes a larger share of the industry’s total gross gaming revenue (GGR).
In Atlantic City, Unite Here Local 54 casino workers have been authorized to strike beginning on July 4, a key summer weekend for the casinos. The union is seeking a big raise in take-home pay.
Casinos are reluctant to give the union what it wants because they know a strike would hurt their bottom line and could damage their reputation in the community. Nevertheless, the union has reached contract agreements with the Borgata, Caesars, Hard Rock, Harrah’s and Tropicana. The deals include pay raises, maintain fully funded family health care and pension benefits, add new language to safeguard jobs, and address housekeeping issues. Resorts and Golden Nugget have not agreed to a deal, but they are expected to sign so-called “me-too” agreements that commit the two smaller casinos to the terms of the contracts reached by the larger properties.
How a Union Works
A union is a group of workers united to improve their working conditions and pay through collective bargaining. If a majority of the members in your casino unit vote for union representation, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will recognize that union as your exclusive bargaining representative. This is done through a process called "voluntary recognition."
The casino industry has long had a reputation for providing good union jobs with solid wages and benefits. But thousands of dealers, slot technicians and other gaming workers do not have the security of a contract with their employer because they are not unionized. These workers are fighting heroic fights in New Jersey, Connecticut, Nevada and Indiana to win the right to be represented by a union.
For many gaming workers, especially women and black and Hispanic employees, having a union is the only way they can raise their wages to match those of white men. Unions help their members by establishing pay "transparency" that shows everyone what they are making, correcting salary discrepancies, establishing clearer terms for internal processes like promotions and raises, and helping workers who have been discriminated against achieve equity.
ATLANTIC CITY — Casino workers got substantial raises and four years of labor peace, as Atlantic City's casinos and their main casino workers' union reached agreements Thursday on contracts ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The deal with Local 54 of the Unite Here union at Hard Rock Atlantic City, which was set to expire Sunday, removes the threat of a strike that would have devastated the busy summer season for all nine of the city's casinos.
The deals also preserve fully funded health care and pension benefits for the casino's tipped and non-tipped workers, bring improvements to housekeeping workloads, and include language to protect jobs at the casinos. The agreements come as the gambling halls continue to struggle to recover from losses they suffered during the coronavirus pandemic. Through the first four months of 2022, the nine Atlantic City casinos won $847.9 million on their brick-and-mortar floors, but the iGaming sector accounted for $2.7 billion of the $17.9 billion they won in the same period last year.
What It Means to Be a Union Member
A union is a group of people who come together to guarantee the things they care about like decent raises, affordable health insurance, job security, and safe and respectful workplaces. They use their power as a collective to negotiate and enforce contracts with management. As a member of a union, you’re part of a movement that has roots in our country’s history going back decades and even centuries.
Casino workers have used their collective strength to make better lives for themselves and their families through organizing efforts. While many gaming workers enjoy the benefits of being a union member, thousands of casino dealers and other gaming workers still do not have a union contract or the rights that come with one.
As the gaming industry continues to expand, more and more casino workers are joining the ranks of those who benefit from being union members. UNITE HERE is the world’s largest gaming union, representing 100,000 members in gaming jurisdictions across North America and beyond. In addition to its longstanding presence in established gaming markets, UNITE HERE is actively growing its membership in emerging jurisdictions where casinos are popping up at a fast pace.
In Atlantic City, for example, the Unite Here Local 54 casino union reached agreements this week on new contracts with the Borgata, Caesars, Harrah’s, and Tropicana casinos. These deals avoided a possible casino strike and allowed the gambling halls to focus on bouncing back from financial losses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite these successes, some casino owners have blocked the efforts of workers to organize by firing worker-activists, refusing to bargain with them despite certified National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections, and intimidating them at protests. Workers in states including New Jersey, Connecticut, and Nevada have been engaging in heroic fights to win the right to a fair return on their work.
When a casino employee has an issue that is not resolved by talking with a supervisor or other manager, the union has a grievance procedure that allows him or her to take the matter to higher levels of management. When a grievance is filed, a steward and management representatives meet in step-by-step meetings to try to resolve the issue. If the issue cannot be resolved, it is brought to an arbitrator or panel for a final decision.
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