Published 01 Aug, 2012
For immediate release
July 27, 2012
Contact: Jamie Horwitz, 202/549-4921; jhdcpr@starpower.net
Casino Dealers Ratify First Labor Pact at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
TWU Local 721 Wins Pact Including Health Care Protections, Seniority Rights and Job Security;
Caesars Dealers Join TWU Members at Wynn As Only Dealers in Vegas with Negotiated Contracts
Las Vegas – Members of Local 721 of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), representing casino dealers at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, have voted to ratify a breakthrough labor contract which includes job security, seniority rights, the continuation of employer-paid health care and other workplace protections.
Casino dealers at Caesars Las Vegas voted overwhelmingly in favor of union representation in 2007, and elected a bargaining committee to negotiate with the company.
TWU members are the only casino dealers in Las Vegas to negotiate signed labor agreements. Local 721 members at Wynn Las Vegas, who also voted for TWU representation in 2007, ratified a first contract agreement in 2010.
In voting that took place on July 26 at the Local 721 union hall in Las Vegas, 89 percent of Local 721 members at Caesars Palace voted in favor of ratifying an 8.5year agreement. The contract includes a grievance and arbitration procedure, protection against unjust discharge, secure health benefits, and recall rights for laid-off workers.
More than 500 casino dealers at Caesars will be covered by the new agreement.
“We achieved the workplace protections and professional standards that casino dealers were looking for when they organized a union in the first place,” said TWU Gaming Director Joe Carbon. “We won seniority rights, there will be no more dismissal without due process, and we protected wages and health care for our members.”
“The labor movement has a long and proud history with the gaming industry in Las Vegas,” said Carbon. “We’re proud to add to it by helping casino dealers win fair, effective labor agreements.”