Casino Workers Protest Planned Closure Of Taj Mahal In Atlantic City
By Cleve Bryan
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., (CBS) -- City workers and officials are worried about the measure of local control they could lose as outside forces make decisions about the future of Atlantic City.
Unite Here Local 54 held a march on the boardwalk Wednesday afternoon to protest billionaire investor Carl Icahn and Trump Entertainment for stripping worker benefits as a condition of keeping the Trump Taj Mahal open.
"We come to work for good benefits. That's what we got these jobs for and that's what these jobs came to the city for," says Charles Baker, a cook at the Taj.
"We want to save the standards for Atlantic City," says fellow Taj cook Paul Smith.
Trump Entertainment CEO Robert Griffin on Wednesday issued a new letter to Local 54 workers assuring them that the Taj Mahal can only stay open if the union drops an appeal to reinstate their labor contract dismissed in bankruptcy court.
It's not just casino workers worried about who controls their jobs.
Governor Christie's Advisory Commission on New Jersey Gaming is recommending Atlantic City cut municipal spending by "right-sizing" the police and fire departments.
It recommends cutting uniformed officers in the ACPD from 330 to 285 while increasing part-time, class II officers from 35-60.
It also recommends dropping the ACFD from 261 to 180 uniformed personnel.
"To go much lower is going to hamper our ability to serve the people of Atlantic City," says Paul Barbere president of PBA Local 24.
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