Twenty-one employees returned to work Monday at Tropicana Casino and Resort after serving a month-long suspension for taking part in a union protest that blocked traffic heading to the Boardwalk casino.
Local 54 of UNITE-HERE, which represents the workers, has dubbed them the “Trop 21.” The union issued a statement saying the employees were welcomed back by their co-workers. Tropicana spokeswoman Diane Spiers confirmed that the workers returned to their jobs.
Tropicana and Local 54 have been at odds over stalemated contract talks. Over the union’s objections, the casino declared an impasse in February and unilaterally imposed its own contract terms on all of the Local 54 members at Tropicana.
The union responded on June 15 by staging a protest. In all, 49 union workers were arrested after they sat down in the roadway and blocked traffic near a Tropicana entrance. Tropicana suspended 21 of its union workers for participating in the protest, saying they had engaged in “illegal activity.”
