UAW lends support to workers pushing for Atlantic City casino smoking ban
Casino workers have been urging lawmakers to ban smoking in their workplaces for the past two years.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has offered its aid in an ongoing battle between Atlantic City dealers and the state of New Jersey regarding a smoking ban in the city’s casinos.
A temporary smoking ban had been in place due to the pandemic but was lifted in July 2021, and the casinos returned to the status quo of allowing smoking on 20% of the casino floor.
For the past two years, a group of Atlantic City dealers has been advocating for legislators to reinstate the ban.
The UAW drafted a letter in support of the smoking ban and addressed state legislators directly. The letter urged that lawmakers reconsider the recently lifted smoking ban and asked that they close a loophole in New Jersey state law that exempts its casinos from being treated as indoor workspaces where smoking is not permitted. It was penned on behalf of the workers at Caesars, Bally’s and Tropicana.
The letter stated: “Our members include dealers who sit inches away from patrons who blow smoke directly into their face for eight hours a day, every single day. It is simply unacceptable knowing what we know about the dangers of secondhand smoke. No worker in the state of NJ should be forced to breathe cancer-causing chemicals every single day.
“We will not stand idly by and watch our members choose between their health and their job. We all have a right to breathe clean air at our workplaces.”
The Casino Association of New Jersey pushed back against the request, claiming a casino smoking ban would have a negative impact on business, costing both jobs and revenue. It recently released a report that predicted job loss as an outcome of a smoking ban.
Another Atlantic City casino union agreed with the report, reflecting a split between the city’s two major casino workers’ unions: The UAW and United Here.
Unite Here Local 54 President Bob McDevitt commented: “[A smoking ban] would mean lost jobs for our union and throughout the state, and lost tax revenues and less money for senior programs.”
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