FACTS














Casino Jobs
  

I often hear from casino employees. All want help.
None dares go public. Why?
"I'm writing to you because I thought you'd be able to mention my concern, the concern of thousands of casino employees when you meet with our legislators," the dealer wrote.
"We are afraid to do anything ourselves because we fear repercussions from the tribe."
(2/13/05 - Jeff Benedict, The Day - The Region's Gambling Addiction: More, More, More ...)
  • Casino construction and operation can, but does not necessarily, mean job creation and growth. Of the 16 regressions run in an Illinois study, only three municipalities showed a statistically significant increase in employment or decrease in unemployment. The same regressions indicated that for every job created, local businesses lost one or more jobs. Another study, conducted by the New York Times found that 27 out of 57 counties analyzed experienced a net job loss. (2007, Philadelphia Five Year Plan)

  • Casino workers forfeit rights - Rich Iacone was two months shy of his 60th birthday when he was fired last year after nearly 13 years at Turning Stone Resort and Casino. The federal agency that oversees age discrimination complaints wouldn't take Iacone's case against the Oneida Indian Nation, which owns Turning Stone, because the nation is a sovereign Indian tribe. Iacone couldn't go to court, either, because the nation is immune from lawsuits. "I was denied my opportunity to bring this before an impartial justice system," said Iacone, who lives in East Syracuse. "When you work for an Indian nation, you forfeit any civil rights an American citizen normally would be entitled to." (4/30/07 - Workers forfeit rights)

  • "It's not your country" - Crash the minivan in the parking garage at Mohegan Sun (casino) or slip and fall on the Foxwoods gambling floor and your fate lies within the tribal court, not our Superior Courts. The tribal courts have judges and lawyers who can represent you. Good luck. So go to work in a tribal casino. But remember, it isn't your country. And don't try to sue. (On Indian land, it's tribal law, 12/1/06)

  • While it's true that casinos stimulate economic development in the form of jobs, they are usually low-wage jobs. "The poor are supposedly going to get these jobs," says Simon, "but if they're not union jobs, they're going to stink." (States want something for nothing, 6/17/06)

  • Positive effects are fleeting - But what about all those casino jobs and newly minted police? Mustard said the positive effects of casinos are fleeting -- payrolls and tax collections quickly plateau, and municipalities don't keep adding cops after the first wave of casino tax revenue rolls in. What's more, Mustard said, crime rates didn't rise in neighboring counties while they soared in casino counties -- evidence that casinos create crime locally and don't merely attract it from somewhere else. (Casinos and Crime, 5/11/06)
  • So far, the casino has successfully fended off their legal claims, contending that the tribe's status as a sovereign nation exempts it from state and federal employment law. The women are plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit alleging they were victims of sexual harassment and job discrimination while employees at the casino, owned by the United Auburn Indian Community. One of the plaintiffs, the suit alleges, was sexually assaulted by a casino manager in his office. Judge to rule on tribal sovereignty issue in seven women's lawsuit against Thunder Valley. "For example," the complaint states, "defendants required applicants to put on Thunder Valley Casino's signature 'uniform' -- black pleather mini-shorts and a skimpy halter top -- and strut their stuff in front of male managers as part of the interview process."  Other male employees watched this process, according to the lawsuit, catcalling and making sexual remarks about the relative attractiveness of the women. In the complaint, one plaintiff alleges that Broome, then the casino's director of information technology, twice forced himself on her sexually. The woman, a 40-year-old mother of four, said she quit her job to avoid him. Another plaintiff claims that Broome fondled and forcefully kissed her. After she complained about his conduct to her supervisor, according to the suit, she was transferred and eventually fired. All seven plaintiffs, who worked at the casino in 2003 and 2004, say they were forced to leave their jobs at Thunder Valley after they complained. (Ex-casino workers' harassment case faces key hearing, 6/4/06) 
  • "It's a very hostile work environment, especially toward women," said Cheryl Dalton, former assistant to the director of marketing. Beverage supervisor Elizabeth Ward added, "I saw so many girls in my office either crying, ashamed, humiliated." (Employees fight to sue casino 4/4/06)
  • Results of the 2005 Indian Gaming Compensation Survey reveal that wages in Indian casinos are 7% below average wages for the same group of hourly paid jobs for full service hotels. Average starting rates were even lower, at 10% below. (3/22/06 - Hourly wages in Indian casinos lag behind hospitality industry)
  • "Many of the Seven Feathers (casino) jobs are "one notch above minimum wage," Shafer says. "There are plenty of jobs cleaning motel rooms, washing dishes or sweeping up casino floors. But not much upward mobility." "If you live within commuting distance of Canyonville, there is an excellent chance to secure a minimum-wage or low-paying job." (Roger Shafer,government and economics teacher at Canyonville Christian Academy) (12/29/04, Mail Tribune, Jackson County, Oregon)
  • "I became a croupier 10 years ago because I thought it would be glamorous. It's turned out to be quite the opposite. I've had punters throw ashtrays at me. I've been called every name under the sun - "bitch", "camel" and worse." "I have to wear the evening dresses that the management supply, which are low-cut, high-split affairs." "I thought I would be joining the high life, but it hasn't turned out that way. I feel like I'm selling my soul." "The ceilings are often incredibly low and they get terribly smoky so there's a real problem with passive smoking." "One really nice trick is that some ... will blow cigar smoke in your face if their numbers don't come up." "The management are really keen to keep the punters happy and spending so ... they hand out free cigarettes along with the sandwiches and cups of tea, so you find people are just chain smoking around you during a 10-hour shift." ( A lose-lose situation, 10/27/04)

  • The large number of "low-wage casino workers," Hines said, has resulted in a severe shortage of affordable housing, with workers "hot bunking" -- sleeping in the same shared bed at different times by working different shifts. (5/25/04 - Providence Journal, RI, )

  • In April 2004, members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 71, picketed the entrance to the proposed casino in Florence to protest unfair labor practices by one of the subcontractors, Nutter Underground Utilities Corporation. Tribal police threatened to arrest the picketers and impound their vehicles. The picketers were on state property on the Hwy. 126 right-of-way. (Siuslaw News, Florence, Oregon, 4/10/04)

  • ".... worked a dead-end job dealing cards at the Chinook Winds casino on the Oregon Coast, earning minimum wage and not much in fringe benefits." (5/29/04, Some Indians choosing their tribal identity based on their wallets, Associated Press, AP West Wire Digest )

  • The majority of jobs at casinos pay between $8 and $13 per hour. Most are not full time (40 hours per week). Normally, only full time employees receive benefits such as health insurance, sick leave, vacation, etc. (Oregon Department of Employment Office 3/19/04)

  • "We can't afford a car on the salary we make," - statement by worker at Foxwoods Casino in Hartford, CT, the largest casino in the world. The statement was in response to announcement that the State intended to end the $400,000 annual subsidy for bus transportation for casino workers. (www.theday.com, 3/9/04)

  • A survey of job openings in Canyonville, where the primary employer is a casino, showed: (Oregon Department of Employment 3/19/04, ):

o 92% of the job openings require one year, or less, experience. (21% required no experience at all)
o 87% of the job openings are for less than full time (10 to 30 hours per week).
o Priority for employment is given first to tribal members and second to other Native Americans. (Confederated Tribes' web page)

  • ... any jobs created by casino development are not required to meet minimum standards established under state laws to protect employees. Moreover, the majority of casino jobs are low-wage, high-turnover positions. (The Impact of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act on Gambling in the United States and the Role for State and Local Governments, 68th Annual Conference, International Municipal Lawyers' Association, 10/13/03)

  • Most of the higher paying positions such as dealers are recruited out of the area. (Information provided by personnel department, The Mill Casino and Chinook Winds Casino 2/03)

  • In a typical county of 100,000 adults, the introduction of casinos would create additional social costs of $12.7 million annually, and direct social benefits of $4.2 million. Using $750 as the average value to the rest of the county of a job means that casinos would have to increase the total number of jobs in the county by more than 11,333 to improve well being of residents, an unlikely outcome. (U. Illinois-U. Georgia, Grinols-Mustard Study, 4/30/03 Testimony before Senate and House Finance Committe)
  

 


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