1,000 Trump Taj Mahal workers go on strike after pensions and benefits cut

Around 1,000 workers at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City have gone on strike in protest at missing out on pension payments and health benefits for almost two years.

The casino, purchased out of bankruptcy in February 2016, is owned by financier Carl Icahn.

Donald Trump, who opened it in 1990, now no longer owns a stake in the business and cut most ties in 2009 after losing control of the property to bondholders in a previous bankruptcy.

“Atlantic City fueled a lot of growth for me,” Mr Trump, who used to hold a 10 per cent stake, told the New York Times in May. “The money I took out of there was incredible.”

Yet at the start of the July 4th weekend, hundreds of cooks, housekeepers, bellmen and servers have walked off the job this week, according to the union UNITE Here.

The union reported that workers are paid an average of $11.74 per hour, while workers have received a wage increase of about 80 cents over the last 12 years.

It also said a third of its workers have no health insurance and around 50 per cent rely on government-subsidized health insurance. Many workers also rely on food stamps.

Yet the casino industry profits were up 40 per cent in 2015 versus 2014 and were up 30 per cent in the first quarter this year alone.

UNITE Here spokesman Ben Begleiter told The Independent: “The workers sacrificed a lot during the bad times, they made major concessions, and when times are good they deserve to be compensated.”

As to how long the strike continues, Mr Begleiter said “that it up to the company and when they are ready to bring a fair proposal to the workers."

The casino filed for bankruptcy in 2014 - that is when the Trump Taj Mahal employees' pension payments and health insurance were cut - and Mr Icahn’s company has financed the casino since then.

Mr Icahn bought the casino property at a discounted rate in February 2016 by buying its debt from bankruptcy court, according to the Associated Press.

Icahn Enterprises did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Strikes have been averted at four other casinos in Atlantic City, one owned by Mr Icahn and three by Caesars Entertainment, after tentative labour agreements were reached.

The casino industry is struggling after four casinos closed in the last four years, and credit ratings agency Moody’s has suggested that even more of the remaining eight casinos may close. Decreased competition, however, has also benefitted the remaining venues.

The New York Times reported that Mr Trump built his former casino empire by borrowing money at “such high rates - after telling regulators he would not - that the businesses had almost no chance to succeed.”

Mr Begleiter refused to comment on Mr Trump but insisted he had played no managing role at the casino “for over a decade”.