Atlantic City's main casino union, where most workers are women, is finally led by one
The main casino workers union in Atlantic City is being led by a woman for the first time in its 107-year history
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Most of the Atlantic City casino workers who clean hotel rooms, serve drinks and tidy up public areas are women.
For the first time in 107 years, the union that represents them is now being led by a woman.
Donna DeCaprio is one of the most influential people in Atlantic City as president of Local 54 of the Unite Here union, which has about 10,000 members and has repeatedly brought the casino industry to its knees during labor disputes.
But there will be labor peace in Atlantic City for at least three more years following the adoption of landmark contracts last summer, which gave workers the biggest raises they've ever had.
DeCaprio was the lead negotiator of those contracts, filling in for then-president Bob McDevitt who was still recovering from an illness that led to the amputation of one of his feet.
She was able to get the job done without a strike, which could have seriously damaged an Atlantic City casino industry that was already struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring inflation. And her decades-long working relationship with executives of the city's nine casinos, as well as her understanding of what workers face each day, helped seal the deal.
“This is extremely hard work that they do,” said DeCaprio, who started her career in the casino industry making sure the bar was properly stocked and cleaned at the Trop World casino in 1987.
Sixty percent of Local 54's members are women.
“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.”
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