Nearly 1,800 Hard Rock Atlantic City hospitality workers will be represented by Local 54 of the UNITE HERE! labor union
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and Local 54 of the UNITE HERE! labor union have successfully negotiated a unionization contract for more than 1,780 hospitality workers at the Boardwalk resort, the Press of Atlantic City reported Friday.
Talks over union representation for Hard Rock Atlantic City’s employees lasted more than six months. The New Jersey State American Federation and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) spread the news of the fruitful end of the negotiations in a Friday statement.
AFL-CIO further said that the bargaining committee will recommend ratification of the contract next Thursday.
Including Hard Rock Atlantic City’s staff members, UNITE HERE! Local 54 will be representing more than 10,000 people occupying hospitality positions at Atlantic City’s operational casinos. The labor union’s members include bartenders, servers, cooks, and housekeepers, among others.
Hard Rock Atlantic City opened doors this past June at the site of the former Trump Taj Mahal. The Hard Rock property’s predecessor closed in the fall of 2016 after a dispute between Taj Mahal owners and Local 54 that resulted in workers picketing the venue for more than three months. The hotel and casino resort was owned by New York activist investor Carl Icahn at the time. Mr. Icahn blamed Trump Taj Mahal’s closure on the prolonged strike.
Getting Hard Rock’s Contract First
Local 54 is also set to bargain the unionization of Ocean Resort Casino employees. The property opened on the very same day as Hard Rock Atlantic City at the site of the former Revel. Last month, the New Jersey State Board of Mediation approved the authorization cards signed by 74% of Ocean’s eligible workers to signal their intent to unionize.
Local 54 and Ocean Resort Casino officials began contract negotiations last September, but the labor union has said that it was always their “objective to get Hard Rock’s contract done first,” bearing in mind the casino’s previous labor union dispute.
Now, as negotiations with Hard Rock Atlantic City have been completed, the labor union is likely to move on to Ocean Resort Casino. The labor union will represent 1,300 hospitality employees at the Boardwalk resort when the unionization contract is bargained.
Local 54 President Bob McDevitt has previously said that casino owners have “acted in good faith” and that the labor union was looking forward to sitting down at the table with them. Mr. McDevitt has also expressed his satisfaction with the “overwhelming” percentage of workers who favored the unionization effort.
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