PanamaTimes

Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024

Hard Rock deal ends casino strike threat in Atlantic City

Hard Rock deal ends casino strike threat in Atlantic City

The Hard Rock casino reached agreement with Atlantic City’s main casino workers union on Saturday, removing the last threat of a strike during the busy holiday weekend and clearing the way for the gambling halls and their workers to concentrate on bouncing back from financial losses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Local 54 of the Unite Here union said it reached a tentative agreement with Hard Rock, avoiding a strike that had been threatened for 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

Combined with agreements reached Thursday with the Borgata, Caesars, Harrah’s and the Tropicana, Hard Rock’s deal leaves only two smaller casinos, Resorts and the Golden Nugget, without a contract. But the union said it expects both of them to agree to one in the coming days.

Bally’s and the Ocean Casino Resort have signed so-called “me-too” agreements committing themselves to adopting the terms of contracts the union reaches with the larger casinos.

The deals still need to be ratified by the full union membership.

“We are extremely pleased that we were once again able to reach a successful settlement with Unite Here Local 54 to increase wages and benefits for our deserving team members,” said Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International. “We look forward to further expanding this excellent relationship at both the national and local levels as we expand our iconic brand.”

Joe Lupo, president of Hard Rock Atlantic City, said the deal allows the casino to concentrate on performing well during the peak tourist season.

“We look forward to a vibrant holiday weekend and a tremendous summer season,” he said.

Contract terms were not immediately made public.

The deals not only avoid what would have been a costly and disruptive strike during one of the busiest weekends of the year for the casinos, but it provides labor peace in the crucial third summer of the coronavirus pandemic, as the casinos are struggling to return to the revenue and profit levels they enjoyed before it began.

In past contracts, the union concentrated on preserving health care and pension benefits, but this time sought “significant” pay raises for workers to help them keep pace with spiraling prices for gasoline, food, rent and other living expenses.

The deals avoided what would have been the city’s first casino strike since 2016, when the union rejected demands by billionaire Carl Icahn that the Trump Taj Mahal casino operate without health care and pension benefits that were terminated by a bankruptcy court.

The union went on strike on July 1 of that year, and the casino shut down on Oct. 10. It was sold months later to Hard Rock International, which gutted it and reopened it as the new Hard Rock Atlantic City in June 2018.

The finances underlying the current dispute are complex.

Including internet gambling and sports betting revenue, the casinos and their online partners have won $1.8 billion over the first five months of this year. That’s up more than 49% from the same period in 2019, before the coronavirus hit.

But the casinos claim those figures are misleading because third-party partners keep about 70% of internet and sports betting revenue, leaving little for the brick-and-mortar casinos.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican Synod Concludes with Support for Women in Leadership Roles
Biden Labels Trump a Threat to Democracy
McDonald's Linked to E. coli Outbreak Leading to One Death
AI Regulation Takes Center Stage in 2024 US Presidential Campaign
Cuba's Power Struggles: Nationwide Blackout Strikes Again
Meta Faces Legal Battle Over Teen Social Media Addiction
UK Government Proposes Weight-Loss Injections to Combat Obesity and Boost Employment
Russia's Call for a BRICS Financial System Alternative
Indigenous Groups in Brazil Protest Carbon Credit Deal
Tesla's Robotaxi Design Strikes Controversy
Boeing to Reduce Workforce by 10% Amid Financial Strain
Brazilian Man Arrested for Decades-long Abuse and Imprisonment of Family
Donald Trump Amplifies Anti-Migrant Sentiments in Colorado Speech
Mass Looting of Chicago Cargo Train: 50 to 150 Looters Ransack Containers in Chaotic Scene
The Impact of Online Culture on Young Women: Survey Insights
Hypersonic Jet to Revolutionize Air Travel
Facilitated Communication: Miracle Tool or Manipulative Method?
US Election 2024: A Deadlock Between Trump and Harris
Dominica Sells Citizenship to Boost Climate Resilience
Elon Musk's X Faces Fines and Account Error in Brazil
Scott Jennings leaves CNN panel speechless as he tears apart Tim Walz's flimsy excuse of being "too dumb to tell the truth."
Earth Faces Severe Geomagnetic Storm from Solar Flare
China-Led Bloc Challenges The Quad in Indo-Pacific Region
Biden-Harris sent forklifts to open the border when Texas built a razor wall.
Storm Helene Devastates Eastern and Midwestern US, Claims 44 Lives
Trump Taps Elon Musk to Lead Federal Spending Cuts, Promising Trillions in Savings
Importing voters: With an election looming, the U.S. is approving citizenship applications at the fastest speed in years.
Hurricane Helene Set to Slam Florida with 'Unsurvivable' Conditions
El Salvadoran President Bukele at the UN: "Some complain that we put thousands in prison. In reality, we set millions free."
Google Commits 120 Million Dollars for Global AI Education: Sundar Pichai
Tennessee Woman Sentenced for Attempted Murder-For-Hire
Amazon Rainforest Suffers Massive Deforestation
Earth's Planetary Boundaries Breached
Elon Musk’s X Circumvents Brazil’s Supreme Court Block
Brazilian Judge Accuses Elon Musk’s X of Circumventing Court-Ordered Ban
Venezuelan Opposition Leader Coerced into Recognizing Maduro's Victory
Brazil's Firefighters Battle Amazon Blazes and Arsonists
X Social Media Platform Ordered Offline Again in Brazil
Global Workdays Required to Afford iPhone 16
In his podcast, Joe Rogan rightly questioned, "YOU NEED A VACCINE PASSPORT FOR FOOD, BUT VOTER ID IS ‘RACIST'?!"
Trump Unveils New Cryptocurrency Venture Amidst Campaign
X Update Enables App to Bypass Brazil Ban, Say Internet Providers
Delta Airlines Sets Strict Wardrobe Guidelines for Flight Attendants
Norway Achieves Milestone in Electric Vehicle Adoption
Hezbollah Hit by Explosive Pagers in Lebanon
Ex-Soldier Describes Trump Assassination Suspect's Troubled Ukraine Stint
Ghislaine Maxwell's Sex-Trafficking Conviction Upheld by Appeals Court
El Salvador's Bold Move: President Bukele Declares End to External Debt Reliance, Thanks to Bitcoin
Murdoch Family Succession Battle Begins
TikTok Faces Potential Ban in the US Amid Free Speech Concerns
×