Hard Rock Reach Deal With AC Union to End the Threat of Strikes–Updated 5 August ’22
The bosses at the Hard Rock Casino have come to an agreement with Local 54 of the Unite Here union in order to end the threat of strikes that have loomed for the past several weeks.
The latest of the threats promised a strike on Sunday, July 3rd, but those in charge managed to reach an agreement the day before workers took action during what is the peak tourist season for the NJ casinos.
Hard Rocks’ new contract means only two other casinos involved with Local 54 are without a deal—Resorts and Golden Nugget.
We are extremely pleased that we were once again able to reach a successful settlement with Unite Here Local 54 to increase wages and benefits for our deserving team members. We look forward to further expanding this excellent relationship at both the national and local levels as we expand our iconic brand
Jim Allen Chairman of Hard Rock International
We don’t yet have full details of what the deal means for workers, but it is known that Local 54 initially wanted an $18 per hour minimum.
Update from 5 August 2022:
As of July 28, all major casinos operating in Atlantic City reached deals with Unite Here Local 54, the largest casino workers union in Atlantic City with over 10,000 members. The list includes Golden Nugget Atlantic City. Previously, on July 20, 97% of the members voted in favor of authorizing the committee to go on strike if a deal is not reached with Golden Nugget by July 30.
As a result of the pressure and the fact that all other significant casino operators in the city signed deals the day before, the management of Golden Nugget Atlantic City signed an identical agreement on July 28. Almost a week later, on August 5, the union members working at this casino approved the new contract with an overwhelming majority (99%).
Thanks to this deal, over 1,000 employees of this company will get peace of mind in the next four years. The main benefit is the increased salary – instead of $16 an hour, the minimum hourly pay is set at $18 an hour. That’s a 12.5% increase. On top of that, employees can expect a progressive annual increase that will reach $22 an hour in 2026. In addition to the pay increase, casino workers at Golden Nugget, as well as the rest of the major casinos in Atlantic City, can expect a fully covered family health care and pension plan, more precise regulation to protect jobs, and optimized housekeeping workloads.
