Atlantic City casino union names Donna DeCaprio as president

Donna DeCaprio was named president of Local 54 of the Unite Here union.

US.- For the first time in 107 years, the main union chapter representing Atlantic City casino workers is a woman. Donna DeCaprio has been named president at Local 54 of the Unite Here union. The union has 10,000 members, of which 60 per cent are women.

DeCaprio played a central role as the lead negotiator during the negotiation of landmark contracts last summer, stepping in for then-president, Bob McDevitt, who was recovering from an illness. Unite says her ability to navigate the complexities of the negotiations without resorting to strikes despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation, was instrumental in her appointment to the new role, along with a decades-long working relationship with executives at the city’s nine casinos.

“I find that women generally take a more collaborative approach to issues,” DeCaprio said. “I would like to build more alliances with other unions and build some bridges.”

One issue she’ll have to deal with is casino workers’ demands for New Jersey to ban smoking in casinos. Currently, it’s allowed on 25 per cent of the casino floor, but a group of casino workers is pushing for a full ban.

See also: New Jersey gaming revenue reaches $487.4m in March