seems the anti-union efforts are not working as well anymore

From:

 

Flush with Victory: Atlantic City Bally’s Workers Join UAW

by Mike Hall, Jun 4, 2007

Casino dealers at Bally’s Atlantic City (N.J.) dealt themselves a winning hand for the future when this weekend they voted overwhelming to join the UAW.

The nearly 1,200 dealers at Bally’s join 850 dealers at Caesars Atlantic City and 600 dealers at Trump Plaza who voted for UAW representation in March.

Bally’s management waged an intense anti-union campaign. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bally’s not only held anti-union meetings and distributed fliers urging workers to defeat the union, but they even took out full-page ads in local newspapers calling for a “No” vote against the UAW. Says UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn:

Bally’s tried as hard as they could to convince people to vote no. The election results make clear that casino dealers had their own collective goal: to join the union movement to negotiate an enforceable and binding contract.

While many of the city’s 45,000 casino workers belong to unions, the trio of recent wins are the first for dealers, and dealers at several other Atlantic City casinos are organizing to form unions with the UAW. Says Bunn.

Atlantic City is a union town. Unions have been very good for Atlantic City. They’ve raised wages, gotten health insurance and helped give employees a voice on the job.

The union also represents dealers and other casino workers at three Detroit-area casinos and Bunn says that relationship has been successful for both workers and the casinos.

The bottom line in Detroit has not been affected. Revenues keep going up. You can actually have good wages and benefits in workplaces and have a thriving company.

In May, nearly 600 dealers at the Wynn Las Vegas resort voted to join the Transport Workers (TWU).  

 

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From : http://dc.indymedia.org

 

Double Victory For Bally Casino Workers

By Michelle Amber 05 Jun 2007 Copyright by the author. All rights reserved. Double Victory For Bally Casino Workers Anonymous Anonymous text/plain -->   Dealers, Security Officers at Bally's Casinos
In Atlantic City Vote for Union Representation No. 107
Tuesday, June 5, 2007


ISSN 1522-5968

Labor News


Dealers at Bally's Atlantic City, the largest casino in Atlantic City, N.J., voted June 2-3 for representation by the United Auto Workers.

On June 3, security officers at the same casino voted for representation by the International Union of Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America, marking the first casino security officers organized in Atlantic City.

In an election conducted June 2-3 by the National Labor Relations Board, dealers, keno, and simulcast workers at Bally's voted 628-255 for representation by the UAW, with 141 challenged ballots that were not determinative, according to John Breese, assistant to the regional director for NLRB Region 4 in Philadelphia. Approximately 1,129 employees were eligible to vote in that election, he said.

In a separate election conducted June 3, security officers employed by the casino voted 151-71 for representation by the SPFPA. That unit included some 255 eligible workers, Breese said.

Third Win Since March

As part of a citywide UAW organizing drive among dealers in Atlantic City, the Bally's election was the third win for the union since mid-March. In a March 17 election, dealers at Caesars voted 572-128 for UAW representation (53 DLR A-1, 03/20/07) and March 31 dealers at Trump Plaza voted 324-149 for the union (63 DLR A-8, 4/3/07) . Trump Plaza, however, has filed objections to that election(70 DLR A-3, 4/12/07) .

The union in recent weeks has been rejected by dealers at two other Atlantic City casinos. Dealers at Trump Marina voted 183-175 against representation (93 DLR A-1, 5/15/07) , while those at Hilton voted 316-268 against UAW(103 DLR A-8, 5/30/07) . UAW has filed objections to those elections.

"This strong majority vote is another great victory for casino dealers in Atlantic City," Joe Ashton, director of UAW Region 9, said in a June 3 statement. "[W]e look forward to bargaining a contract that will address pay, benefits, job security, and other issues of concern for casino dealers," he added.

According to UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, Bally's tried to convince the dealers to vote "no." She said, however, that the results "make clear that casino dealers had their own collective goal: to join the union movement and negotiate an enforceable and binding contract."

"We are disappointed that our Bally's employees decided to vote in favor of a Detroit-based labor union," Carlos Tolosa, the president of Harrah's Eastern Division, said in a statement provided to BNA. Officials of Harrah's Entertainment, which owns Bally's, and officials at Bally's, declined to comment further on the elections.

UAW is "looking forward to negotiating a fair and equitable contract with the casino," Kevin Donovan, the assistant director for UAW Region 9, told BNA June 4.

The union has not filed any other election petitions at this time, Donovan said, but added that UAW is canvassing workers at the other casinos to see if there is interest in organizing. He added that the organizing to date has resulted primarily from workers "coming to us."

UAW is in discussions with Caesars about beginning negotiations on a first contract and the parties are "close to getting dates" scheduled, Donovan said.

SPFPA Plans Citywide Campaign

Meanwhile, SPFPA Organizing Director Steve Maritas told BNA June 4 that in the past there have been several attempts by smaller unions to organize security officers in Atlantic City, but no union has been able to organize these workers until now.

Referring to the twin union victories, Maritas added, "You might beat them once, but you never beat them twice. Finally, someone beat the house."

Maritas said that his union now intends to organize the security officers in the remaining Atlantic City casinos, estimating that the 11 casinos together employ some 2,500 security officers.

Unlike the UAW campaign in which that union is organizing one facility at a time, the SPFPA is in the process of signing up workers at every casino, Maritas said, adding that the union has collected enough authorization cards to file for elections at two more properties. He said, however, that the plan is to educate the security officers on the need for a union as well as how to stand up to "union busting" at the properties, get more signed authorization cards, and file for elections at several properties at one time.

Maritas said the union usually does not focus on going after people to organize, but rather the workers approach the union. In Atlantic City, however, he said the union is educating the workers and laying a foundation for a vote because the casinos are "very hard to organize."

The major issue in the organizing drive throughout the city is wages, Maritas said. In Atlantic City, security officers earn $9 an hour to $10 an hour and also pay $76 per week for family health benefits. In Detroit, where the union represents the security guards at three casinos--the MGM Grand, Greektown, and Motor City--those workers are earning more than $16 an hour and are only paying $70 per month for health insurance, he said.

www.SPFPA.ORG
www.RespectForACSP.Org   ____________________________   And heres another recent win     From:     Nearly 500 workers vote to join health care union   3 August 2007 MINNEAPOLIS - Service and maintenance employees at Abbott Northwestern Hospital – 441 in all – have voted to join SEIU Healthcare Minnesota.

Election results were counted Wednesday at the hospital, which is part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics. The newest members of SEIU Healthcare will join 969 Abbott Northwestern Hospital service and maintenance, technical and professional employees already represented by the union.

Throughout Allina Hospitals & Clinics, 3,052 employees are represented by SEIU Healthcare. In 2006, Allina and SEIU formed a groundbreaking Strategic Alliance to tackle the deep challenges that face health care in Minnesota and around the country.

"Today, nearly 500 of us stood together and voted YES to unite with our co-workers in SEIU Healthcare," said Jamie Wanjiku, an operations technician at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. "This is an historic event for all of us, our families, and our patients. Today, we united with over one million health care workers nationwide and 14,000 across Minnesota who are committed to making sure our health care system works for everyone."

"We're excited to have so many new voices joining with us," said Michelle Miller, a respiratory therapist at Unity Hospital and a leader of SEIU Healthcare. "We're looking forward to adding their ideas and energy to our union's mission to build healthy communities."

These new members of SEIU Healthcare (formerly known as SEIU Local 113) will elect a committee to negotiate a contract over the coming months just as the pacts for all the other SEIU Healthcare workers at Allina will be opening for negotiation. Those contracts are all part of the Alliance and expire in February 2008.

"This vote is another example of how, together, we are changing the way health care works," said Julie Schnell, president of SEIU Healthcare. "We all want to do what's best for the community, and the new members at Abbott Northwestern voted today to become part of a greater vision for a health care system that works for everyone."

The SEIU-Allina Strategic Alliance represents a new model in healthcare-labor relations, the union and company said. It is a 10-year vision to provide industry-leading health care by creating an environment in which employees flourish, there are opportunities for advancement and growth, and resources are used in the most cost-efficient manner.

The vision of the Alliance is to make Allina the best place to receive care and the best place to work, they said.

For more information
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota unites more than 14,000 hospital, clinic and nursing home workers across Minnesota. Its website is www.seiuhealthcare.org.  

Allina Hospitals & Clinics is a not-for-profit system of hospitals, clinics and other health care services, providing care throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Its website is www.allina.com.

 

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could it be that union membership is rising ? we certainly hope so

 

Cya'

Joe