US casino employees have called for the gambling industry to pay full salary and benefits to workers who have been laid off because of the coronavirus.
Casinos across the United States have been ordered to shut down in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Hundreds of thousands of workers have been laid off for the unforeseen future, losing their salaries and benefits, but have not yet been able to file for unemployment.
Union bosses in areas such as Las Vegas, New Orleans and Atlantic City have called on the gambling industry to step in and help the workers, who are struggling to pay their bills and rent.
The casino industry has been accused by unions heads of not doing enough the assist workers.
The international president of the Unite Here union, which represents around 300,000 workers in North America, said that the gambling industry was “sitting on a pile of money, just watching the chaos.”
“They should step up and pay people throughout this closing,” said Donald “D” Taylor.
It’s not that the casino industry hasn’t taken the first steps to try and help its employees in the short-term, according to the American Gaming Association. The trade group’s CEO, Bill Miller, said that gambling groups such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts have already guaranteed to pay their workers at least until the middle of May.
Other groups, such as MGM, have set up emergency grant funds to help their workers meed their immediate financial needs such as mortgages and groceries.
The unions, however, believe that not enough is being done. They themselves have stepped in by helping eligible workers apply for unemployment benefits and by setting up food banks. Some 9,000 unemployed workers in the Las Vegas casino industry have received food baskets by local unions. In addition, all Unite Here members will have their health insurance paid until the end of June by the union.
