Labor, management at impasse
Horseshoe Indianapolis table game dealers and dual rate employees – workers who split time between dealing cards and supervising the gaming floor – have gone on strike over the right to unionize.
Friday, October 17, was the day the 200 workers were scheduled to vote on their union, but because union elections are overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the federal government is currently shut down, the election was delayed.
The workers, represented by Teamsters Local 135, proposed allowing a neutral, third-party arbitrator to oversee the election in place of the NLRB, but Horseshoe management did not agree to the plan. On October 10, the dealers and dual rates voted 92% in favor of authorizing a strike.
The striking workers initially demanded union recognition on September 4. Horseshoe management could have voluntarily recognized the union at that point, but it did not. It also tried to remove dual rate employees from the group, claiming they were supervisors and therefore ineligible to join the union, a tactic the union did not accept.
Despite all that, the election still could have gotten done. The workers proposed a vote three weeks from filing to unionize, which would have put it before the government shutdown, and thus a time when the NLRB would have been available. But Horseshoe management wanted October 17 and rather than delay with further back and forth, the workers and Local 135 agreed.
”They don’t even pay us for our vacations.”
Horseshoe employees appear to want better pay and job security.
”Horseshoe Indianapolis is the second highest grossing Caesar property in the United States outside of Las Vegas,” dealer Ericka Hacker told Fox59 News out of Indianapolis. ”Corporate has become increasingly focused on profits over people. Table games dealers and dual rates, which helped build this department in 2020, have now been rewarded with insulting three percent raises which are eleven cents an hour on our base pay.”
“They’re making millions of dollars and they’re paying us about six dollars an hour,” added dealer Rick Kurtz. “They don’t even pay us for our vacations. It’s ridiculous. We have to pool our tips to get paid vacations.”
With multiple casinos in Las Vegas moving to all-computerized table games, some dealers at the Shelbyville casino may be worried for their jobs, but Kurtz doesn’t seem to be.
“It’s impossible to go to automation on table games. The technology isn’t there,” he said. “They had automated blackjack. Nobody played it. They had automated craps tables in there. We had a dealer just standing there all day long. Nobody playing it. People want the live interaction with the dealers.”
The casino has made no mention of the strike on its website or social media channel. In a statement to media outlets, it said, “….we remain confident in our ability to continue serving our guests without disruption, maintaining the high standards of hospitality they expect from us.”
As to the strike itself, Horseshoe Indianapolis is sticking to the line that it is fine with the workers going through the formal process with the NLRB, though its silence on the alternatives is certainly noticeable.
“While the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has postponed this scheduled union vote due to the federal government shutdown, we remain committed to ensuring our Team Members can exercise their legally protected right to vote in a union election. We fully support the NLRB process and will continue to comply with all federal regulations.
“We are proud of the workplace environment we’ve built and will respect and support our Team Members should they choose to pursue union representation through the federally recognized process.”
Horseshoe Indianapolis has a WSOP-branded poker room.
Image credit: Horseshoe Indianapolis / Facebook
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