News

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- With more than 200 UAW members in attendance urging prompt action, the City Council of Atlantic City voted unanimously on Wednesday, April 9, to ban all smoking on the city's casino floors.



"This is exactly why we joined together to form our union," said Terry Shindel, a veteran dealer at Caesars who suffers from respiratory problems. "People have been talking about cleaning up the air on the casino floor for years -- but now that we're working together as a union, we're getting real action."



Since March 2007, a majority of casino dealers, dual-rate dealers and other workers at Caesars, Tropicana, Bally's and Trump Plaza in Atlantic City have voted in favor of UAW representation. UAW supporters have also won representation elections at Casino Aztar in Indiana and Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.



"Secondhand smoke is a serious occupational hazard for casino workers," said Joe Ashton, director of UAW Region 9, which includes New Jersey. "Casino workers in Atlantic City organized to protect their health and improve their workplaces -- and we're glad the City Council listened to them and took the necessary action."



The smoking ban, which will go into effect Oct. 15, was sponsored by Councilman Bruce Ward and supported by the UAW, the New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution (NJ-GASP) and other public health organizations.



"We're very pleased that Atlantic City has taken a great step for healthly workplaces. Having the support of the UAW has been crucial in achieving this long-standing goal," said Karen Blumenfeld, director of NJ-GASP's Tobacco Control Policy and Legal Resource Center.



"Our union is committed to assisting casino workers who want a voice in public policy, just as we assist workers who want a voice on the job through collective bargaining," said UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, who directs the union's Technical, Office and Professional (TOP) Department. "There is a powerful and exciting movement for change among gaming industry workers all across the country, and the UAW is proud to be part of it."



The UAW, one of the nation's largest and most diverse labor unions, represents more than 8,000 gaming employees in Detroit, Atlantic City, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Indiana.



http://www.uaw.org/