Hear From Workers

Marybeth Litcholt

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino
Atlantic City, N.J.
UAW

Trump Makes $32 Million a Year, Dealer Tops Scale at $9 an Hour

Marybeth Litcholt has worked as a casino dealer at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino since 1987—but after 21 years, she makes $9 an hour.

Meanwhile, her big boss, Donald Trump, the chairman and largest single shareholder in Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., which owns the Trump Plaza, made $32 million in 2007. Not bad, given that his approximated net worth is more than $3 billion.

Forced to work in smoke-filled conditions all day, she has developed sinus problems and her lungs burn. Yet, when the City Council for Atlantic City was set to consider a municipal smoking ban to protect hardworking people like Litcholt, Trump unleashed a massive counterattack—fortunately, the City Council passed the ban despite the corporate pressure.

Last year, Litcholt and her fellow dealers sought to join together to improve their working conditions, and by a margin of more than 2-to-1, they voted to form a union with the UAW to negotiate a fair contract that will provide basic workplace safety standards, a decent wage, pension and health care.

In spite of the overwhelming union victory, Trump has refused to accept the will of casino workers. His corporation filed objections to the election, which were thrown out by the National Labor Relations Board. The legal wrangling, however, delayed union certification for more than a year, and Trump may still challenge the decision in federal court.

Atlantic City is home to 11 casinos that employ more than 30,000 people, the vast majority of whom are represented by a union. Housekeepers, cocktail waitresses, bartenders, musicians and stage technicians have all exercised their fundamental freedom to form a union and were respected by their employers. Yet Trump and the company have refused to negotiate a contract with casino dealers and slot technicians.

Litcholt is not giving up. She is proud to be a part of her union and is standing strong with her brothers and sisters, demanding that her employer recognize her democratically elected union and negotiate a fair contract.