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Revel Wants to Set Employment Terms

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According to The Press of Atlantic City, Revel is planning limit the number of years its employees will be able to work as dealers, bartenders, cocktail servers and other positions. If this happens, this will be an unprecedented event in the Atlantic City casinos.

“Basically, what we’re doing is creating a term limit,” said Kevin DeSanctis, Revel’s chief executive officer.

DeSanctis also said that bartenders, bellhops, dealers, cocktail servers, valets, front desk hosts and promotions workers are all positions that fall under the new employment restriction.

Once those employees’ terms are complete, they would have to reapply for their positions, unless they are promoted or transferred to another position within Revel. While competing with other candidates, those employees could wind up losing their jobs if they are not considered the best candidates.

“When you think about the hospitality industry today, I think that we’re essentially in a different place than the world was at several years ago,” DeSanctis said. “It’s more critical than ever in these positions that we have the right people there. At the end of the day, these are the people who determine how guests view Revel.”

The president of Local 54 for UNITE-HERE, Bob McDevitt, compared the Revel policy to age discrimination. McDevitt’s union represents 14,000 workers in Atlantic City’s 11 operating casino hotels.

“To me, it’s just one more mysterious item with Revel. They have no interest in playing by the same rules as everyone else in terms of employment. This is further evidence of that,” said McDevitt. “We’re not talking to them (Revel).”

DeSanctis has since denied any form of discrimination, saying that he wants to keep the staff at Revel fresh for positions that are considered ‘high-touch’ and key to keeping the image of Revel positive.

Revel is scheduled to open in the spring of 2012 (May 15), bringing a new level of style and sophistication to the city’s gaming industry. Revel is an upscale resort that cost $2.4 billion to construct. Revel’s business strategy includes bringing in younger and wealthier customers. It has been reported that construction is weeks ahead of schedule, which is making Revel consider moving up the open date. A final decision on the casino’s opening date will be made in January.

Revel has begun to hire 5,000-5,500 workers for its staff at the casino hotel. The first set of workers hired by the company were management employees, but the company has since moved into hiring frontline employees.

Experts in the gaming field claim that the work term limits set forth by Revel are unprecedented in the industry. Experts feel that Revel will be using the limits to reduce labor costs and change its staff without the constraints of union contracts.

“What you’re describing right now is a short-term contract,” McDevitt said. “When the Casino Control Act was passed, it envisioned long-term careers, not short-term jobs.”

Revel Wants to Set Employment Terms by
Authored by: Harrison Barnes