Published 19 Feb, 2014
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Card dealers at three high-end Las Vegas casinos voted by a 13-to-1 margin to ratify their first TWU-negotiated contracts with employer Caesars Entertainment on Tuesday. These are first-time contracts that will set an industry standard. The 1,300 dealers at Bally’s, Paris, and Harrah’s joined TWU Local 721 in back-to-back elections less than a year ago. In addition to the negotiated contracts the company is preparing to sign a neutrality agreement and grant the TWU card check at all Caesars-owned casinos in Las Vegas.
All three 5-year contracts bring card dealers 29 days off with pay and tips, a major victory in the casino industry. “These contracts are really the premiere contracts right now for Las Vegas dealers,” said TWU Gaming Division Director Joe Carbon. “The gains we made are significant for the members. We negotiated job security, grievance and arbitration, the right to have shop stewards on all shifts, and the maintenance of their robust health care plan.”
“TWU has been on the side of Las Vegas dealers for over a decade,” said International President Harry Lombardo. “The union has earned respect throughout the industry, and a reputation for delivering solid contracts and giving dealers the job security and representation they deserve. We’re moving forward in Las Vegas, and we are thrilled to have 1,300 new brothers and sisters standing behind us.”
The card check and neutrality agreements under negotiation right now are testaments to the reputation that TWU is building in Las Vegas’ gaming industry. “Caesars Entertainment came to us,” said Joe Carbon. “The company is now accepting the union. That’s a relationship that we’ve been able to build. I think it will only get better.”
Going forward, TWU is looking to build on its record to make further gains for Las Vegas casino dealers. “This is a culture change for the dealers and the casinos,” said Lombardo. “The dealers were very excited to become a part of TWU and to know that the union has their back. They‘re proud of their contracts. At this point, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t recognize that TWU is charting new territory. People said that dealers couldn’t be unionized, or even shouldn’t be unionized. TWU and the dealers proved them wrong. We will continue organizing until every dealer in Las Vegas is represented by TWU!”
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Read news coverage of the ratification votes in the Las Vegas Review Journal