Empress Casino Denies Workers' Right to Organize

Empress Casino, which operates two gaming boats on the Des Plaines River, near Joliet, Ill., has refused to allow its workers to join a union, despite a written statement from the company supporting its employees' right to joina union and an overwhelming majority vote by Empress marine officers in favor of organizing, says a national union. Marine officers employed aboard casino boats Empress I and Empress II, voted to join American Maritime Officers (AMO), a national union representing licensed engine and deck officers in the U.S. merchant marine. According to AMO, Empress Casino refuses to recognize the election and will not negotiate a union contract with the workers, despite a written commitment in a company memo from the company's president honoring its employees' right to join a union.