United Auto Workers (UAW), a union which also represents casino workers, has previously filed a lawsuit that wants to compel the state to remove Atlantic City’s nine casinos from the list of excluded properties where indoor smoking is allowed. The UAW’s lawsuit argues that the health of casino staff is put in danger because of the continuation of indoor smoking on gaming floors.

We Are All on the Same Side – Almost

Yet not everyone agrees. A pushback from the New Jersey Attorney General’s office is to be expected, but the camp against banning smoking for the time being also includes Local 54 of the Unite Here union, the state’s largest, which represents 10,000 casino workers and has filed an appeal with the Superior Court of New Jersey to dismiss the lawsuit brought around by UAW.

The filing says that workers stand to lose their jobs should a smoking ban be enacted, and further notes that only 25% of gaming floors are currently covered by the indoor smoking exemption. However, the lack of proper filtration between the smoking and non-smoking areas means that secondhand smoke does reach other parts of the gaming floor as well.

UAW is fighting on behalf of dealers at several major properties, including Tropicana, Bally’s and Caesars, with dealers usually the most impacted by smokers at their tables. Trinity Health, a not-for-profit health system, has also appealed to the state to heed the calls of the UAW and move forward with a complete ban on indoor smoking on the gaming floor.

New Jersey AG Matthew Platkin has already defended the state’s decision, and Gov. Phil Murphy, arguing that exempting certain areas of the gaming floors from the indoor smoking ban did not infringe on “any purported constitutional right to safety,” and has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the lawsuit.

UAW lawyer Nancy Erika Smith, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the union, has said that she was baffled by Local 54’s reaction, and the union’s decision to fight back against a measure that could ultimately only benefit its workers. However, Local 54 has greater concerns on their minds.

The union’s workers fear that banning smoking would lead to a downturn in casino footfall, which will in turn mean job cuts, with as many as a third of all workers running the possibility of losing their jobs.

To Light Up or Not to Light Up – This Is the Question

Donna DeCaprio, Local 54 president, has mostly sided with what has been said by casinos themselves. A complete ban on indoor smoking at casinos would be “catastrophic” and have serious economic ramifications for casinos and their staff. Yet, Atlantic City and New Jersey have other states to compare against.

Pennsylvanian properties that have banned smoking have not registered a downturn in revenue. Similar efforts to limit smoking are also undergoing in Rhode Island, Kansas, and Virginia. Yet, Local 54 believes that the worst possible scenario is the only one. A complete ban on smoking would significantly reduce the sector’s competitiveness resulting in job cuts.

It has already been tried once before, the union reminded, referring to a 2008 ban on smoking, which saw casino revenues drop by 19.8%. However, there is also evidence to support the claim that casino floors may be reinvigorated as more non-smokers come to Atlantic City to play in a smoke-free area. Besides, a lot has changed in the United States when it comes to smoking habits.

A quick historical comparison shows that in 2008, around 20.5% of the population smoked. The rate has declined to less than 11.5% by 2021, with the latest figures likely to show even further decline. The saga is ongoing, with no end in sight just yet.

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Still, a final push to see a bill closing the loophole in public health law has been lacking, and this is why the United Auto Workers president, Shawn Fain, is now dead set on snuffing out cigarette smoke from gaming floors.

Mustering Support for Smoke-Free Casinos in New Jersey

He has recently won a pay rise for the union members, as the industry is scurrying to absorb costs, but also retain capable and skilled labor in the post-pandemic period. Shain and the UAW want lawmakers who are backing the proposed anti-smoking bill to make sure they move with it this Thursday during a scheduled hearing.

Casino workers have been the most passionate advocates calling for an end to smoking mandates since the pandemic, fearing for their health, but also because of raising awareness about the pernicious effects of second-hand smoking. Bipartisan support has been available with politicians of all stripes vowing to back the matter.

Even federal government representatives have spoken favorably of the matter, and yet, there seem to be one or two votes short. Fain now wants to see who the holdouts are and go after them it seems. Fain penned a letter in which he insisted that the voices of those suffering the most, casino workers and patrons, must be heard.

The UAW represents three casinos in New Jersey, Tropicana, Bally’s and Caesars, and workers in all three venues want to see tobacco and cigarette products banned as those have been repeatedly and empirically linked to worsening health conditions for workers. Fain’s letters state as much:

“Patrons blow cigarette/tobacco smoke directly into their faces for eight hours, and due to the nature of their work, table dealers are unable to take their eyes away from the table, so they bear through the thick smoke that surrounds their workplace.”

However, the UAW is also not willing to “negotiate” in the sense that there are certain red lines that can be crossed.

For example, an idea to have smoking rooms has been blasted by the UAW, widely echoing fears by employees that this measure would not significantly improve their conditions which are that they need to work while breathing secondhand smoke. Presently 25% of gaming floors allow smoking as an exemption to the state’s Smoke-Free Air Act.

A Complete Ban on What Is Long-Overdue Measure

Meanwhile, there have been such movements all over the country, which are gaining traction and will eventually succeed. New Jersey is not fully opposed to the idea but there is a lingering fear that if the measure is passed right away, then there may be unintended economic damage to the casino sector.

This has been dismissed by supporters of the bill, but even lawmakers who endorse the legislation agree that they may be a few votes short.

Fain’s appeal is strong, but it needs to reach the lawmakers who can cast the decisive vote and not be aimed at those who are already supporting the issue and feel remorseful that they can’t muster that last few votes to seal the deal. Thursday will be a new day to decide the matter during the upcoming Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee hearing.

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