Gamblers in Atlantic City cross Taj Mahal picket lines; union warns of mice
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Gamblers crossed picket lines at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in large numbers yesterday amid taunts from striking union members as their job action stretched into its third day.
The stakes were raised by Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union against the Taj Mahal, which was opened in 1990 by Donald Trump but now belongs to his friend, fellow billionaire Carl Icahn.
A steady stream of people filed in to the casino lobby off the Boardwalk, braving amplified taunts from picketers and a warning to visitors that “dead mice have been found in this building.” The sprawling casino floor was busy, although it had about half the crowd that was playing at Resorts, a casino next door that is half the size of the Taj Mahal — but not facing a strike.
“Hundreds of dead mice were found in the kitchen of this building!” said Benjamin Albert, an organizing director with the union. “If you like mice and roaches, stay at the Taj Mahal! If you like casinos that care about their workers, stay anywhere else!”
Questioned by a reporter, Albert said the union relied upon Atlantic City Health Department inspection reports from March through August of 2015 that found 282 instances of mice or rodent feces throughout the casino.
Taj Mahal management did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the city’s health department was closed yesterday.
In early afternoon, about a dozen people stood in line to check in at the hotel desk for reservations they had made weeks or months earlier, before they knew a strike was possible. Gamblers played slot machines throughout the casino floor, and about two thirds of the table games were in use yesterday afternoon.
Outside on the Boardwalk, picketers shouted at those leaving the casino, and especially people who looked like they were heading inside. To one man wearing a blue New York Giants cap, a picketer yelled, “The Giants will never win another Super Bowl if you go inside there!”
To another customer heading for the casino, a picketer yelled, “You’ll have horrible luck! Every day, for the rest of your life!”