Over 200 casino workers in Indianapolis are planning to go on strike. It comes after their vote to decide on unionization was postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is the federal agency responsible for overseeing union elections. A statement on their website explains that the board is currently shut down due to a “lapse in appropriated funds.”
requesting that Friday’s vote proceed by using a third party to oversee it
Speaking to local media, Teamsters Local 135 President Dustin Roach explained that the workers approached the management of the Horseshoe Indianapolis, requesting that Friday’s vote proceed by using a third party to oversee it.
Roach said that management ignored this proposal, which he described as an “aggressive union-busting campaign.” For this reason, the table game dealers and gaming floor supervisors plan to strike to force management to agree to the election plan. This isn’t standard procedure, as the union remarked that the strike decision is a “move virtually unseen in the modern labor movement” since the workers don’t yet have any formal union recognition.
The table game dealers and supervisors won’t be the first employees at the property to unionize in recent years. Teamsters Local 135 counts warehouse workers and slot attendants among its represented workers, after they joined in 2023.
