Shelbyville, IN – At noon on October 17, the movement to unionize Horseshoe Indianapolis erupted into open action as the table games dealers and dual rate dealers walked off the job and launched a strike for union recognition with Teamsters Local 135. “Dual rates” split their workweek as dealers and floor leads.
Hundreds of people packed the strike kickoff outside the casino – including a strong majority of the more than 200 dealers and dual rates – turning the Horseshoe entrance into a sea of picket signs, chants and Teamster unity. Many carried signs reading “Horseshoe Teamsters hold all the cards” and “Horseshoe Teamsters on strike.”
The strike began with a dramatic show of worker power on the casino floor. Because casinos have no clocks, day-shift dealers set alarms on their phones to hit exactly noon. When the alarms sounded, dealers closed their lids, secured their tables, and announced that they were on strike before marching off the casino floor together and pouring out the front entrance. They were joined by dual rates and other supporters in a strike procession that stretched across the property as they joined the picket lines.
From the outset, the strike took on a powerful and militant character. Workers established 24-hour picket lines at every entrance of the casino, vowing to shut down business as usual until Horseshoe recognizes their union.
The chants were deafening. “What do we want? Union! When do we want it? Now!” and “If we don’t get it – shut it down!” echoed across the property while cars honked in support.
Workers handed out fliers to customers calling for a boycott of the casino until management agrees to recognize their union and negotiate a fair contract. Management responded by calling in lines of casino security and Shelbyville police, who positioned themselves alongside management in an attempt to intimidate workers. It didn’t work.
Despite police threats, workers held the line, raised canopies, patrolled crosswalks, and kept pickets moving. Eventually the picket lines were established and the police presence pulled back.
The strike comes after weeks of escalating tension at Horseshoe. A majority of dealers and dual rates began organizing earlier this year and demanded union recognition on September 4. Instead of respecting workers’ choice, Horseshoe management launched a union-busting campaign led by the notorious anti-union law firm Littler Mendelson. Workers were forced into mandatory anti-union meetings, threatened, surveilled and fed misinformation. Teamsters Local 135 filed multiple unfair labor practice charges in response.
After management refused voluntary recognition, workers filed for an NLRB election. The vote was scheduled for October 17 – but on October 1, the federal government shutdown forced the NLRB to postpone all elections indefinitely. To keep the vote on schedule, Teamsters Local 135 proposed using a neutral third-party election supervisor under the same rules already agreed to by both sides. Horseshoe management ignored the proposal and used the shutdown to stall the process even further.
With no election in sight and management refusing to respect workers’ rights, the dealers and dual rates voted 92% on October 10 to authorize a strike for recognition. One week later, they delivered on that promise.
Now, the strike at Horseshoe Indianapolis is one of the most significant private-sector labor battles in Indiana in years, and one of the only recognition strikes in recent Teamster history.
The message from the strike line is loud and clear: the workers who run Horseshoe are standing united, and they aren’t backing down. Striking Horseshoe Teamsters are asking players and customers of the casino to stand with them and boycott Horseshoe Indianapolis until management recognizes the union.
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The picket line is open to public support out front of the Horseshoe Indianapolis casino on 4300 N Michigan Road, Shelbyville, Indiana.
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