Union Seeks Casino Vote

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Hartford Courant

By MARK PETERS

NORWICH - Table dealers in Connecticut's rapidly growing casino industry have bet for the first time on organized labor, a step that could cascade from the Foxwoods gaming floors to thousands of other workers.

Armed with signatures collected during the summer, the United Auto Workers union petitioned Friday for a federally supervised election to form a 3,000-member bargaining unit of dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Already, other workers at Foxwoods are following the lead of the dealers - possibly opening up a vast new workforce to a labor movement struggling to hold on to members at private companies.

The UAW is also collecting signatures to organize hundreds of slot machine technicians and attendants. The International Union of Operating Engineers started a signature drive last month to unionize an estimated 250 plumbers, electricians and carpenters at the casino. A United Food and Commercial Workers local president said Friday that his group is interested in joining.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/hc-casino0929.artsep29,0,2530384.story?coll=hc-utility-local-northeast