Atlantic City casino workers rally for smoking ban support amid legislative uncertainty

Atlantic City casino workers staged a rally at the office of state Sen. Vince Polistina in Egg Harbor Township on Wednesday morning, urging him to support a now-stalled casino smoking ban that he previously sponsored.

The bill, aimed at closing an indoor smoking ban loophole that permits smoking on certain areas of casino floors, did not proceed to a vote in the last session. Representatives from unions representing dealers at three Atlantic City casinos expressed frustration with lawmakers, including Polistina, who initially endorsed a complete ban but is now contemplating introducing a compromise bill, NJ Spotlight News reported.

Although indoor smoking is prohibited in almost all public places in New Jersey, the current law allows smoking on up to 25% of the casino gambling floor, without restricting it to a specific area.

The compromise legislation would seek to implement a phased-in smoking ban over several years and include smoking rooms, from which dealers could choose to opt-out. Casino workers told Polistina they were disappointed that he is drafting a compromise bill rather than continuing to push for passage of a blanket smoking ban.

Several dealers told Polistina that casinos will manipulate workers to staff smoking rooms, especially by targeting immigrants and younger people afraid to say no, and by arranging part-timers’ schedules so people who won’t work them will not get hours, reports The Press of Atlantic City.

“Knowing we lost a huge segment of the Legislature, particularly the South Jersey Democratic delegation ... I was still trying to get to a point where we can eliminate smoking on the casino floor,” Polistina said of the proposed compromise bill, which has not yet been introduced.

Opponents of the original bill contended that the casino industry would suffer financial losses and job cuts, with business potentially flowing to neighboring states that still permit smoking indoors. The Casino Association of New Jersey has said the impact of a smoking ban could be 20% to 25% of casino revenue being lost.

In December, a second attempt to pass the bill failed to garner sufficient votes, despite having numerous legislative sponsors and strong backing from casino workers who cited health concerns related to second-hand smoke exposure on the job.

During a protest at the time, a group of people, including those affiliated with C.E.A.S.E. (Casino Employees Against Smoking's Effects) and UAW (United Auto Workers) members representing casino workers, expressed their dissent by lighting up cigarettes at the New Jersey Senate Health Committee after legislators removed the bill from their agenda.