LINCOLN – Food and beverage workers at Twin River have ratified a contract that includes raises for both tipped and non-tipped workers; free single-person health insurance for full-time employees; and job security for the next four years. The contract also will also continue employer-paid pensions, according to Unite Here! Local 217.
Over the term of the contract, wages will increase 10.5 percent for non-tipped workers and 10 percent for tipped workers – meaning that, by 2011 a cook will receive $15.18 per hour and dishwashers will earn $13.68 per hour, the union said. The increases will begin this year with across-the-board raises of 2 percent; continue next year, with raises of 2 percent for tipped workers and 2.5 percent for non-tipped workers; and conclude with 3-percent raises for both tipped and non-tipped workers in each of the final two years of the contract.
Each year, workers also will receive an additional 10-cent-per-hour contribution to their pension funds. And employees who work 25 hours or more per week will receive free health insurance.
In addition, the workers will be guaranteed job security for four years, whether they work directly for Twin River, at a venue such as Carmine’s, or for one of its lessees, such as Ronzio’s and Johnny Rockets. Dunkin Donuts – which has the largest number of outsourced employees, totaling 30 – does not fall under the contract, Jenna Karlin, an organizer for Local 217, told Providence Business News in a telephone interview this morning.
“After a difficult struggle, we are pleased to have reached a fair agreement with Twin River,” Robin Brindle, a bartender and union organizer, said in a statement. “We now know that workers will earn living wages and have access to quality health insurance for the next four years.”
Added Joan Sweeney, a concession worker and 20-year employee of the former Lincoln Park, “With this agreement, I know that my job is secure, and that I will continue to have my years of service recognized.”
The negotiating process took about 18 to 19 months, Craig Sculos, vice president and general manager of Twin River, told Providence Business News in a telephone interview today.
“Both sides are happy with the outcome,” Sculos said, adding: “Twin River prides itself on having great relationships with all our employees.”
Unite Here! – the labor union formed by the July 8, 2004, merger of UNITE, formerly the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, with HERE, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union – represents more than 450,000 active members and more than 400,000 retirees across North America. For more information, visit www.unitehere.org.
Twin River – formerly known as Lincoln Park – is a gaming and entertainment complex owned by BLB Investors LLC. For more information, visit www.twinriver.com.
