No Labor Resolution As Mountaineer Casino Workers Strike
The threatened strike at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort became reality today as employees at the West Virginia casino formed picket lines. Although last-second meetings were held Friday night, a compromise could not be reached.
Officials for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 23, representing money room employees, slot technicians, and cashiers, said that management's final proposal was simply not good enough.
Ted Arneault, president and CEO of Mountaineer, felt that the new offer on health care and wages was equitable. Mountaineer is using reassigned employees and management to cover the gaps created by striking personnel.
Employees at the protesting positions start at a rate soon to be lower than federal minimum wage, when that economic bottom is raised in July. Average wage is less than $10 an hour. Employees have found themselves requiring state aid to meet the cost of basic needs.
Management admits to the need for a new contract with better employee terms, but says the union wants all of its demands met without negotiation or prioritization. Some employees are apparently upset that the advent of table games has not resulted in a trckle-down effect, raising their pay and benefits.
