![]() ![]() A few years later, with another crisis upon them, members had to give up a 25-cent-an-hour wage increase to prop up the plan. In 2003, confronted by one financial crisis, the plan experimented with deductibles, though union leaders pulled them back when the crisis passed. Several times, the plan nearly went bankrupt. Such Taft-Hartley plans, as they are called, are prized by unions, as they typically offer good benefits and have preserved workers’ health protections, even when wages have stagnated.īut Local 26’s plan had a history of struggling, as rising medical costs sapped the plan’s reserves and jeopardized coverage for workers and their families, many of whom are immigrants from Latin America, Africa and East Asia. Local 26, like many unions, had long offered members a health plan, which was largely funded by the hotels that employed its members. The union, which traces its roots to the late 19th century when bartenders in the city voted to organize, was facing a crisis. Seven years ago, the leaders of Local 26 feared their members were destined for the same fate. workers with job-based coverage say they or a close family member have delayed care in the last year because of cost, according to a nationwide poll conducted for this project in conjunction with the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. The run-up has saddled Americans with medical bills they can’t afford, even with insurance, a Times examination of job-based coverage found. Strong protections that keep both workers and guests safe are essential for the re-opening of the gaming industry to be a success.Over the last decade, employers have systematically shifted healthcare costs onto employees, requiring workers to pay higher premiums and pushing the average deductible on a single job-based plan to almost $1,400, nearly three times what it was a decade ago. ![]() We need the protections that these public health guidelines will provide. “Since March, I’ve stayed home to do my part to flatten the COVID-19 curve and protect my family and my community,” said Gladis Blanco, a guest room attendant at Bellagio, a MGM Resorts International property, “I’m ready to go back to work, and I know my co-workers in CITY and in casinos around the country are too, but we need to know that we’ll be safe when we return. To ensure that workers have a voice in ongoing implementation and enforcement, joint labor-management health and safety committees should be created. Clear lines of authority, accountability, and monitoring must be established. *Implementation and enforcement: These guidelines will require detailed protocols unique to each gaming facility. So too will ensuring that workers have the appropriate training and sufficient time to follow cleaning protocols. *Enhanced cleaning: More frequent and more intensive cleaning of all surfaces will be necessary. Also, steps should be taken to maintain appropriate distancing among guests and workers in each facility. *Protection: PPE should be made widely available to workers and guests alike. *Prevention: This includes testing of workers for the virus and antibodies and screening both workers and guests on entry (temperature checks), as well as reducing the number of surfaces that are touched by multiple people. UNITE HERE is proposing public health guidelines that include: The casino companies need to work with us to ensure a healthy and safe environment when casinos re-open, and if they won’t, the gaming regulators of the states in which they operate must take action.” Taylor, “The health and safety of both workers and casino guests is our union’s top priority, which is why UNITE HERE consulted with public health professionals and industrial hygiene experts to develop a set of public health guidelines for gaming facilities. “Hundreds of thousands of workers are employed in the gaming industry in the United States, and it is imperative that any plan made to reopen these facilities involves input from both workers and their union,” said UNITE HERE International President D. Now, as some states prepare to reopen, casino workers and their union, UNITE HERE, want to ensure that appropriate public health protections are in place to safeguard both workers and casino guests. UNITE HERE press conference: Protect casino workers & guests!Īlong with all other non-essential business, all casinos in the United States have been closed since March in an attempt to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. Culinary & Bartenders Unions Legal Service Fund.You have the right to be free from hate, sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination at work You may be eligible to start at 100% pay at your new union job! Culinary Union presents: UNION YES music playlist.Important Reasons to Join the Culinary Union.UNITE HERE press conference: Protect casino workers & guests! | Culinary Union Local 226 ![]()
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