Elected officials have failed casino employees

Elected officials have failed casino employees

To the editor:

The approval of the sale of Resorts Hotel Casino by the N.J. Casino Control Commission and the Division of Gaming Enforcement is much more than a transfer of ownership to Dennis Gomes and Morris Bailey. It is an approval that reinforces two major tenets: one, that these two state organizations will stand by and let casino operators do whatever they choose; and two, there are no elected officials anywhere in New Jersey that will stand up for casino employees.

They were silent when the Sands Casino Hotel closed and put 2,000-plus employees on the street, and they are silent again while the new management team at Resorts is cutting salaries and wages, probationing benefits, underemploying and letting staff go. After all, in an industry that is legally allowed to compromise their employees’ health for profits, it comes as no surprise that not one elected official (even in South Jersey) will come to the defense of casino employees amid the continued deterioration of casino employment.

Thirty years ago the Casino referendum was voter-approved to provide casino careers and employment for Atlantic City, the county and the state – not part-time employment with lowered wages and reduced benefits. Casino-hotels are like dominos: once one implements a practice or policy with no resistance or oversight, they all try to follow. This practice is flawed not only because it violates the spirit and intent of the Casino Act, but also because of the trickle-down effect on local businesses, real estate, unemployment, etc. that will keep our local economy in recession. The attitude of ‘At least they still have their jobs’ is nothing more than a cautionary prediction for an employment practice that would not stand in many other professions.

Even Sen. Jim Whelan has rationalized that in order to move forward, we have to make "concessions." Concessions like the reduction of casino employment from 45,000 in 2006 to 34,900 in 2010, a reduction of nearly 20 percent.

In its last 31 years, the casino industry in New Jersey has generated more than $17 billion in taxes and fees for New Jersey and Atlantic City. In the past 24 years, over $1.8 billion in investments and grants have been generated by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, entirely funded by the casinos. So, how many industries does southern New Jersey have?

Why won't one elected official exercise due diligence and stand as an advocate for the casino employee? Five straight years of casino layoffs should have been long enough to come up with some type of legislation or oversight committee that addresses and supports the needs of casino/hotel employees. Soon, please... very soon!

R. Vincent Saponara

Egg Harbor Township