A union representing 206 workers at Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort in Chester has contacted a federal mediator in hopes of resuming contract negotiations with MRT Gaming Group, Inc. The workers have already voted to authorize a strike for this Saturday unless things get better.
United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 23 Secretary-Treasurer Tony Helfer says he hopes Mountaineer will agree to allow a mediator to get involved in the dispute.
Helfer says MTR hasn't cooperated with the cashiers, slot machine workers and money room employees who want more than just a pay increase.
"The company just said no to every economic proposal that we had. They would only gave us a wage offer," Helfer tells MetroNews. "When tried to talk about the health care and how unaffordable it is, but they just rejected our proposals to try and fix it or make it more affordable."
Helfer says the union members, who make between $6.50 and $13.00 an hour are, in some cases, paying more than $100.00 a week for family health care coverage. "They just can't afford this health care," he said.
Helfer says MTR Gaming is a very profitable company. He says workers doing similar jobs at a company owned racetrack in Erie, Pennsylvania are earning more. "Our members qualify for a lot of state assistance benefits and we think it's wrong that the residents of West Virginia should be subsidizing a racetrack."
Helfer says that's not what residents were voting for when they approved the expansion of gambling.
"They passed it to increase the taxes, but with so many of our members falling under the poverty level, they are taking assistance from the State of West Virginia," Helfer said.
An attorney for MTR Gaming says if the workers go on strike Saturday, other employees at Mountaineer can still get he job done.
Helfer disagrees.
"If you take 206 employees out of a workforce and expect to run everything as normal, as they said, I find that rather humorous," Helfer said.
