United Auto Workers (UAW), a union that also represents casino workers, previously filed a lawsuit seeking to force the state to remove Atlantic City’s nine casinos from the list of excluded properties that are allowed to smoke indoors. The UAW’s lawsuit alleges that casino employees’ health is at risk because indoor smoking continues at gaming venues.
We’re all on the same side – almost
Not everyone agrees, though. Though a backlash from the New Jersey attorney general’s office is expected, the anti-smoking camp represents 10,000 casino workers for the time being and includes Local 54 from the state’s largest Unite Here union, which filed an appeal in New Jersey Superior Court to dismiss the UAW’s lawsuit.
The filing says that if a no-smoking law 슬롯사이트 순위 is enacted, workers could lose their jobs, and only 25% of gaming venues are currently covered by indoor smoking exemptions. However, the lack of adequate filtration between smoking and non-smoking areas means that secondhand smoking reaches other parts of the playing field as well.
The UAW is fighting on behalf of dealers in several major properties, including Tropicana, Vallis, and Caesars, with dealers typically most affected by smokers at the table. Trinity Health, a nonprofit health system, has also appealed to the state to heed the UAW’s demands and ban indoor smoking in playgrounds altogether.
New Jersey AG Matthew Platkin has already defended the state and Gov. Phil Murphy’s decision, arguing that exempting certain sections of the gaming arena from banning indoor smoking does not violate “constitutional rights to safety” and has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the lawsuit.
UAW attorney Nancy Erika Smith, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the union, said she was baffled by Local 54’s response and the union’s decision to fight against measures that would ultimately only benefit workers. Local 54 is more worried, however.
Workers at the union fear that banning smoking will lead to a decline in casino population, which in turn means job cuts, with a third of all workers likely to be out of work.
Whether it’s on or off – this is the question
Donna DiCaprio, the 54th president of the region, supports most of the casino’s own claims. A complete ban on indoor smoking in casinos would be “catastrophic,” with serious economic implications for casinos and their employees. However, Atlantic City and New Jersey have other states to be compared to.
Pennsylvania properties that banned smoking have not recorded a drop in revenue. Similar efforts to limit smoking are also taking place in Rhode Island, Kansas and Virginia.