UAW Region 9 Director Dan Vicente made the announcement during a joint press call about the New Jersey smoking issue staged by Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE). The advocate group is comprised of anti-smoking Atlantic City Dealers and Americans for Nonsmokers Rights (ANS), a national advocacy group.
The press call was arranged to voice protest to Friday’s decision. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Patrick Bartels opted to toss out a lawsuit brought against the state by the UAW. CEASE and ANS support the lawsuit. It seeks an injunction based on public health dangers to halt the exemption to New Jersey’s 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act. The Act bans all indoor smoking in public areas, but allows it inside casinos and a few other locations.
The lawsuit argued that workers have a constitutional right to breathe smoke-free air. In his decision dismissing the lawsuit, Bartels held that the plaintiffs’ “reliance on a constitutional right to safety is not well-settled law.” He also said that “exceptions in the Smoke-Free Air Act do not intrude upon a person’s safety under the New Jersey Constitution.”
The UAW and its supporters immediately announced it will appeal the decision to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Law allows smoking on 25% of gaming floors
Currently, the law permits casinos to allow smoking on 25% of gaming floors. The unions have are actively promoting bills in the legislature to end the casino exemption. The state Senate held a committee hearing on the issue, but it has not reached the senate floor. The state Assembly has not taken the issue up. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in 2021 said he will sign any indoor smoking ban that reaches his desk.
The committee delayed sending the measure to the full Senate due to a bill backed by the Casino Association of New Jersey. That bill would allow smoking to continue on 25% of the floor, but would make working in smoking areas voluntary.
Local 54 of UNITE HERE, which represents food, beverage and other Atlantic City casino employees, is supporting the alternative bill. It filed a court brief opposing the lawsuit seeking to ban smoking.
‘We’re going to take it to the NJ supreme court’
One the press call, the UAW’s Vicente reiterated his pledge to appeal the judge’s decision. He also blasted the AFL/CIO for supporting it.
“We’re going to take it to the Jersey Supreme Court, and we’re proud to do so,” Vicente said. “This is a moral, health and safety issue… I will be pulling the UAW out of the AFL/CIO of New Jersey over this issue.
“I cannot express how furious our institution is at the Jersey state-level AFL and the other unions that filed an injunction status against us.”
State Senator Joe Vitale, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said on the call that he will continue his efforts to bring the smoking-ban bill to the Senate floor.
“It’s a privilege to be on the call with you and all of your friends and advocates for not just the legislation, but for protecting the lives and the welfare of those employees in the casinos,” Vitale said.
“This has been an effort over the years to try to right this wrong, and we’re getting closer and closer. We’re clearly very disappointed in the judge’s ruling. I don’t know why it is that casino workers can’t have an expectation of safety… I think it’s certainly wrong, and anyone who is fair-minded, I think, agrees.
“And so we’ll pursue the legislation. It is out of the Health Committee; it did get voted out back in January. So, I’m going to ask that the bill be voted on by the full Senate.”
Compromises are ‘to be kind, absurd’
Vitale also attacked the compromises put forth by the Atlantic City casinos. Among them, he pointed to voluntary work provision and the idea the industry floated to create “Phillip Morris Smoking Rooms” where all employee participation would be voluntary.
“The compromises that have been put forward are, to be kind, absurd,” he said, “They don’t work. The science is flawed. At the end of the day, smoking will still exist in the casino, putting the lives and the well-being (in jeopardy for) not just workers but patrons as well.”
CEASE and ANR, meanwhile, said they plan to conduct a digital media blitz to raise awareness of the issue.
“CEASE is launching a digital ad campaign called ‘Kids of CEASE’ that will be airing in key districts in New Jersey,” said ANR President Cynthia Hallett. “It’s important for everyone to understand how critical it is to have smoke-free workplace protections, and how worried family members and other patrons who go play in casinos are about exposure to hazardous secondhand smoke.”
Pete Naccarelli, table games dealer and CEASE co-founder, spoke of the importance of the campaign with respect to his own family.
“I’ve been a dealer casino employee for 28 years,” he said. “As far as the ruling this past week, we are all very disappointed, obviously, but glass half full—it gives the lawmakers a chance to do the right thing, and we’re hoping they will….
“We’re not looking for any kind of special rules, special laws. We just want the same protections as everyone else in the state. And that’s all we’re asking for. So basically we asked the lawmakers, ‘will you do the right thing or do you agree with the ruling, with the judge quoted saying, safety is not a fundamental right of the workers?’”
It seems like casino dealers don’t matter
Vicente, meanwhile, said the UAW will keep up the pressure on New Jersey lawmakers to vote on the smoking ban. He said the legislative route hasn’t been successful and he’s not “super hopeful” about a Supreme Court case.
“We plan to escalate the situation in New Jersey,” he said. “But understanding that this is an election year, we have a lot of national coverage right now in the union. … We plan to try to put as much pressure on the legislature as we can.”
He added that if legislative and judicial options fail, his group will still keep the pressure on.
“For some reason, in the state of New Jersey, if you put on a casino dealer uniform, your life does not matter as much as everyone else’s. I know I’m not supposed to curse, but that’s frankly bullshit.”
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/new-jersey-smoking-dealers-pull-out-uaw/
