March 20, 2014
By Stephanie West
Atlantic City, NJ.– Revel Casino workers took a first step towards joining UNITEHERE Local 54 as they delivered a petition to Revel’s President demanding job security and a fair process to form a union. “I’ve worked at Revel since the beginning, and this is the most chaotic it has ever been.
There are rumors every day about a sale, and we are all worried whether we will lose our jobs. We need a new owner, and I’m committed to doing everything I can to make Revel a profitable casino, but we need more certainty in our lives. We need job security and a fair process to form a union,” said Rebeca Franco, a cocktail waitress at Revel.
Built at a cost of $2.4 billion, Revel received over $300 million in subsidies from New Jersey, and entered bankruptcy less than a year after opening. Revel is widely reported to be for sale, and has not announced any plans to ensure job security for the existing workers in the event of a sale.
“We’re ready to hit the reset button on our relationship with Revel and work together to make Revel and Atlantic City great again. In order to do that, the workers need to have job security and a process to join the union without fear of intimidation. Additionally, I call on all of the elected officials in the State who helped to get Revel built, to now stand up and support the workers at Revel,” said Bob McDevitt, President of UNITE HERE Local 54.
UNITE HERE Local 54 is the largest casino workers union in Atlantic City. With a 100 year history, Local 54 represents about 12,000 workers in 10 Atlantic City casinos.
