New UAW Union-Foxwoods Contract Will Cost Connecticut Casinos Millions
Recently, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has forced Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut into a contract that will cost millions of dollars in additional wages and force the casino to comply with mandates that could cripple their profitability.
Provisions in the UAW contract mandate the 2,500 casino dealers receive an astounding 12 percent raise. This increase, based on union muscle and not merit, will cost the casino $10.5 million in two years. According to AWF Executive Director Brian Johnson, this is a cost the union can’t afford.
“In a tough economy, the most inefficient and unnecessarily costly producers do not survive. We saw this with the highly unionized auto industry in Detroit with forced contracts and union inflated wages well above market-rates,” said Johnson. “This is not a workforce model Foxwoods, or any industry for that matter, should seek to adopt.”
Also hidden in the contract are provisions that force the casino to pay higher benefits to part-time workers which disenfranchises dealers to work full-time. Additionally, the establishment of several “smoke-free” zones within the casino led to a 15 percent decline in total revenue. Comparable provisions established in Delaware contributed to a $6 million per year loss. It also opens the gates to making the total casino smoke-free which cost $400 million a year loss in Illinois within the first year of a similar program.
The Mashantucket tribe is opposed to this unionization and there are complaints that union organizers intimidated workers to vote in favor of unionization. “Worker intimidation, unfortunately, is par for the course in many union elections,” Johnson added.
Comments
Post Your Comment
Add a Comment