Shelbyville, IN – In a decisive victory for their historic strike for union recognition, table games dealers and dual rate dealers at the Horseshoe Indianapolis casino voted overwhelmingly on Friday, December 5, to join Teamsters Local 135.

In an expedited NLRB election ordered after the end of the government shutdown, striking casino workers delivered a landslide mandate for union representation and forced Caesars Entertainment, the corporation that owns the casino, to recognize their union. The vote took place on day 50 of the strike.

The final tally showed 100 votes for the union and 47 against, a 53-vote margin in favor of Local 135. Caesars management challenged the ballots of 50 of its employees – more than one in four eligible workers – but the challenged ballots were not determinative to the outcome. More than two-thirds of the challenged ballots were cast by striking workers, who voted yes. Caesars also challenged all dual rate ballots, continuing to claim dual rates are “supervisors,” despite multiple NLRB rulings rejecting that position.

A strike-day election

Polling opened at 5 a.m. inside the Horseshoe casino. Across the street, the striking dealers and dual rates held a mass rally before walking together in groups to cast their ballots. The NLRB’s decision to hold the election at the casino was an egregious example of the federal government violating the rights of workers. In ordering the election in this manner, the NLRB effectively forced strikers to cross their own picket line. Despite this gross violation of workers’ rights, turnout was not diminished in the slightest. Every striker voted, and the rally on the picket line across the street continued throughout the day.

When polls closed at 10 p.m., workers again assembled across the street for a victory gathering. An hour later, the results were announced. Striking workers celebrated an overwhelming win for the union.

Horseshoe General Manager Trent McIntosh and Table Games Manager Lee Ann Hinthorne were present during the vote count, along with an attorney from the casino. All three were advised by Littler Mendelson, the anti-union law firm that Caesars paid tens of thousands of dollars per day throughout the campaign. All looked on as the workers delivered a resounding defeat to Caesars’ months-long anti-union effort, which included illegal firings, threats, captive-audience meetings, illegal attempts at strike-breaking, and around-the-clock pressure.

The road to victory and beyond

The December 5 election came exactly 50 days after the strike began on October 17, when day-shift dealers walked off the floor in unison, shutting down table games. The strike came after Horseshoe management refused to honor the union's request to proceed with a neutral-administered election during the government shutdown, which indefinitely postponed all scheduled union elections.

Workers held a continuous, militant, round-the-clock picket line through storms, freezing temperatures, police repression, and a coordinated effort by the city of Shelbyville and Caesars to restrict public space around the casino. Their organization and persistence sharply limited Caesars’ ability to continue union-busting and held the unit together through the shutdown until victory.

Teamsters Local 135 President Dustin Roach called the outcome “a victory written in courage, sacrifice and snow,” saying the workers had “shown the world exactly what it means to fight for dignity.”

In a statement after the vote, Teamsters Local 135 said that the dealers and dual rates “faced down a billion-dollar corporation. They endured pressure, fear tactics, and every trick Caesars could throw at them. They sacrificed paychecks, sleep, family time and comfort — all for each other. And tonight, they won.”

The strike officially concluded on Monday, December 8, when the dealers and dual rates returned to work as recognized Teamsters Local 135 members. They are immediately beginning to organize a strong first-contract campaign.

The Horseshoe recognition strike now stands as one of the most consequential labor victories in recent Indiana history, and a rare example in the modern era of workers using a recognition strike to force a major corporation to the bargaining table.

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Shelbyville, IN – Thirty days into their historic strike for union recognition, the Horseshoe Indianapolis table games dealers and dual rate dealers marked the milestone the way striking workers always have: together, in solidarity, and in full public view.

At noon on November 15, striking workers and their supporters gathered for “Labor Day in November,” a large cookout held directly across from the Horseshoe Indianapolis casino. Despite being one month into a bitter showdown with casino giant Caesars Entertainment, morale on the line was high and the sense of momentum unmistakable.

More than 100 Teamsters from other shops joined the celebration, alongside members of the UAW, USW, AFSCME, AFT, and other unions from across central Indiana. Indiana State Senator Andrea Hunley and Indianapolis City-County Commissioner Jesse Brown also attended, walking the lines and speaking directly with the dealers and dual rates who have held out for a month in the face of weather, corporate pressure and coordinated strike-breaking by the company and the city of Shelbyville.

A giant Teamsters Local 135 tractor-trailer drove up and down North Michigan Road, blaring its horn in support of the striking workers. At one point, Shelbyville police – who evicted the striking workers from their picket lines on day 20 by force and have effectively operated as Caesars' private security force – pulled the truck over, threatening to ticket the Teamster driver for supposedly “violating a noise ordinance.”

After lunch, the crowd surged back onto the picket lines, now re-established in the grassy public medians along North Michigan Road and CR-200 W, where striking workers stand on public right-of-way and easement. With fresh banners and high spirits, strikers marched in formation, chanting, “Hey Caesars, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!”

Dustin Roach, president of Teamsters Local 135, led the crowd in a chant, “Who’s got the power? We got the power! What kind of power? Teamster power!”

Strikers and their supporters leafleted customers as they entered the casino, explaining the strike and urging them not to cross. Many drivers honked, waved, or turned around—another sign of the broad community support the strike has gained.

A militant month

The 30-day mark follows a week of high energy on the line. One night saw picket-line karaoke, drawing dozens of strikers to sing and laugh together despite the cold. On another, two local bands, Work Friends and Boozehounds Bluegrass, held a solidarity concert for the striking dealers and dual rates. Work Friends delivered a set of union classics like Union Maid, and even a Horseshoe-strike version of Which Side Are You On? – featuring the lines:

They say in Shelby County,

There are no neutrals there,

You’ll either stand with Caesars’ greed

Or fight for what is fair.

Later that night, the entire swing shift sang Solidarity Forever together in full view of the casino.

Reviving the recognition strike

The strike began on October 17, when day-shift dealers set phone alarms for noon, closed their lids, secured their tables, raised their hands, and walked off in unison – shutting down table games and launching a 24-hour picket that has held firm ever since.

The walkout followed an NLRB election that was postponed indefinitely because of the government shutdown. Caesars refused to accept a union proposal to hold the scheduled election through a neutral third-party election supervisor, despite both the union and company having previously agreed to all terms of the election.

In response, the workers chose a route rarely seen in the modern U.S. labor movement, a recognition strike – a tactic common before the 1935 NLRA but almost unheard-of today.

Their determination has only grown stronger. The strike has weathered torrential storms, freezing nights, unexpected snow, strike breaking attempts by the city of Shelbyville's police and the company, and more. Through it all, the dealers and dual rates remain disciplined, united, and unwavering.

NLRB reopens and moves toward an election

The federal government shutdown ended on the night of November 12, marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history at 43 days. The NLRB reopened the following day and is now moving to schedule an expedited election for the Horseshoe dealers and dual rates.

Labor Board policy has been to expedite elections when a strike is taking place. With a historically large backlog of elections, hearings and cases stemming from the shutdown, the priority that the Horseshoe election is getting from the NLRB speaks to the effectiveness of the dealers' and dual rates' strike for recognition.

Workers say that whatever date is chosen, they are ready to win their strike and begin bargaining their first contract.

“One day longer, one day stronger”

If Caesars hoped the cold, the storms, or the city’s interference would break the strike, Saturday made clear just how wrong they were. The Day 30 turnout demonstrated growing support from other workers and unions, as well as community members and elected officials.

In the last week, dealers and dual rates began filling out bargaining surveys on the picket line. They are eager to begin the collective bargaining process immediately to address their many issues, including wages, health insurance, PTO and unjust discipline.

As the crowd marched down North Michigan Road after the cookout, one chant echoed louder than any other: “One day longer!” “One day stronger!”

And after 30 days on the line, the Horseshoe dealers and dual rates mean every word.

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Shelbyville, IN — The historic strike at the Horseshoe Indianapolis casino has taken a dramatic and scandalous turn.

Since October 17, table games dealers and dual rates—workers who deal cards part of the week and serve as floor leads the rest—have led a militant strike demanding that Caesars Entertainment recognize their union with Teamsters Local 135 and bargain over wages, benefits and working conditions.

Caesars, which earned $9.5 billion in revenue in 2024 and reported $336 million from Horseshoe Indianapolis alone, has waged a sweeping anti-union campaign since September. Now the city of Shelbyville has become an active participant on the side of big business.

For 20 days, workers lawfully picketed on the public easements and right-of-way outside the casino’s three entrances on North Michigan Road.

Everything changed on November 5, when Shelbyville police, standing shoulder to shoulder with casino security and management, evicted strikers by force and threatened trespass and arrest. Officers claimed the sidewalks, easement, and roadside were all “private property.” Yet North Michigan Road is a historic public road connecting county roads, lined with homes and farms, and carrying public easements by definition.

How could police justify this sudden reversal?

Because the mayor’s office struck a corrupt bargain with Caesars the day before.

A quiet morning meeting, a major strike-breaking scheme

On November 4, Mayor Scott Furgeson’s administration handed Caesars exactly what it wanted.

That morning, the Shelbyville Board of Public Works and Safety held a brief meeting with only two members present – both appointed by the mayor. There was no public debate, no explanation, and no acknowledgment of the citywide controversy surrounding the strike, despite continuous police presence at the picket line.

In minutes, the board approved a legal agreement with Caesars’ shell company, Centaur Acquisition LLC, redefining ownership of the land in front of the casino.

The city used a long-ignored paperwork technicality to redraw the public right-of-way into the narrowest possible shape, directly aiding Caesars’ efforts to break the strike.

The “Confirmation of Implied Dedication of Roadway Easement” declared that the public only owns the roadway “from curb to curb.” Everything outside the curb, including the entire grassy shoulder and roadside where strikers stood, was declared Caesars’ private property.

The board voted 2-0 to adopt this unusually restrictive dedication. They did not request shoulder access, pedestrian easements, or the traditional centerline-based right-of-way used throughout Indiana.

City Attorney Jennifer Meltzer admitted in the meeting minutes that the original easement from the 2008–09 road realignment was never recorded. Instead of correcting that omission in line with standard Indiana practice, she framed the new dedication as “preventing issues 30 to 50 years down the line.” She made no mention of the immediate issue unfolding outside Horseshoe—where the strike was entering its fourth week.

The timing speaks for itself.

Less than 24 hours later, police move in

On November 5, armed with the new agreement, Shelbyville police and Horseshoe management moved to expel workers from the roadside. Officers tore down tents and canopies set up to withstand freezing nights and threatened arrests for standing where strikers had legally stood for three weeks.

Only when officers sought trespass warrants did a judge refuse to sign them, noting the city could not prove the workers were not on public easement.

The message from city hall was unmistakable: Shelbyville was now enforcing Caesars’ strike-breaking strategy. In doing so, Mayor Furgeson has revealed himself as an enemy of the very working families he is supposed to serve.

Scandal in Shelbyville

Caesars is a multi-billion-dollar corporation desperate to stop its workers from forming a union. The strike has severely damaged operations and profits. Instead of remaining neutral, Mayor Scott Furgeson’s administration intervened on the company’s behalf, using government power to eliminate public space, restrict free speech and undermine federally protected labor rights.

The deal was rushed through quietly, with no public comment and no transparency. It wasn’t “administrative clean-up.” It was a political favor to a corporation during an active strike.

The strike unbroken

On the night of November 5, more than 100 striking workers and supporters flooded the Shelbyville city council meeting to condemn the city for siding with Caesars. The next day, many dealers wrote letters to Mayor Furgeson and called his office directly. Strike captains are preparing further escalation to force the city to abandon its support for Caesars’ union-busting tactics.

Despite the city’s maneuver, the Horseshoe strike remains unbroken. Strikers have regrouped across the street on a confirmed public lot, continuing 24/7 picketing under bitter conditions.

Disciplined, determined and militant, the dealers and dual rates have made one thing clear: They will not stop until their union is recognized.

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Shelbyville, IN - The strike for union recognition at the Horseshoe Indianapolis Casino has now entered its fourth week, marking more than 23 days on the picket line for table games dealers and dual rate dealers. These workers, who greet one another each day with the call-and-response “One day longer” and “One day stronger,” are carrying out one of the most significant and courageous private-sector labor battles in modern Indiana history, and one of the only major recognition strikes seen in the United States in decades.

Their struggle is being closely watched across the state and around the country. The dealers and dual rates are fighting to preserve their rights, defend free speech, and win democratic recognition in the face of corporate union-busting, a federal shutdown, and now an unprecedented attempt by the city of Shelbyville to help Caesars Entertainment crush the strike by forcibly removing lawfully picketing workers from public land.

The road to the strike

Dealers and dual rates – workers who deal cards part of the week and serve as floor leads the other part – began organizing with Teamsters Local 135 roughly six months ago. Although Caesars misclassifies dual rates as “supervisors,” they have no authority to hire, fire or discipline; they are workers like everyone else.

By early September, the group had reached super-majority support for forming a union. On September 4, they marched on the boss and demanded voluntary recognition. Caesars refused. Workers then offered a neutral card check. Caesars refused again.

Local 135 filed for an NLRB election, originally proposing September 26. Caesars pushed for October 17. Knowing the company could stall the process even further through hearings, the union accepted the date and location proposed by management.

Immediately afterward, Caesars launched a full-scale union-busting campaign with the notorious law firm Littler Mendelson, known nationwide for helping employers crush organizing drives. Workers were bombarded with captive-audience meetings, threats, surveillance and nonstop anti-union television propaganda. Local 135 filed multiple unfair labor practice charges in response.

The shutdown, the delay and the strike authorization vote

On October 1, the federal government shut down after Congress failed to pass a funding bill. The NLRB ceased elections, including the Horseshoe vote planned for October 17.

Within hours, Local 135 proposed a solution: move forward with the October 17 election using a neutral, licensed third-party election supervisor under the exact rules already agreed to by both sides. Caesars refused to even acknowledge the proposal.

Workers now faced a choice. They could wait months for the NLRB to reopen and expect management to escalate union-busting in the meantime. Or they could revive a tactic that built the American labor movement before 1935: namely, a strike for union recognition.

In mass meetings, workers chose the latter. On October 10, in a secret ballot vote open to all dealers and dual rates, 92% voted to authorize a recognition strike.

October 17: The walkout that shut down table games

At exactly 12:00 noon on October 17, day-shift dealers set alarms on their phones – since casinos have no clocks. When the alarms sounded, they closed their lids, secured their tables, raised their hands, announced the strike, and walked off the casino floor together.

Outside, they were joined by grave and swing shift workers, and more than 100 Teamsters supporters. All entrances were soon covered by 24-hour picket lines. Table games were shut down.

The strike was on.

A powerful strike line – day and night, through rain and cold

From day one, the picket lines have been militant, disciplined and unbroken. Workers marched in formation. They leafleted customers. They carried signs like “Horseshoe Teamsters Hold All the Cards” and “Horseshoe Teamsters on Strike.”

For 23 days straight, they have held the lines in pouring thunderstorms, freezing nights and high winds. On October 18 and 19, storms tore down canopies and destroyed signs. By sunrise, day-shift strikers had rebuilt everything.

Some dealers who did not initially join the strike have come outside on strike since the beginning. One woman noted that management has taken to working the dealers inside excessive hours and refusing to grant “early outs,” or EOs, even in cases of being sick or a child's birthday.

The strike has also had real economic impact. Customers have turned back in large numbers, vendors have refused to cross, and Horseshoe’s table games operation has been reduced to a fraction of normal capacity. Sysco, UPS, Pepsi and other Teamster-represented vendors have honored the line. Caesars has resorted to unmarked, unrefrigerated box trucks to move food, and even then, workers intercepted and blocked deliveries.

Even as managers from these companies intervened to drive deliveries across the picket line, reports from inside the casino show an increasingly dire situation for the casino, including spoiled chocolate milk and empty vending machines. Escalators, which union technicians refuse to service behind a picket line, remain inoperable.

Recognition strike rattles Caesars and the city

Customer traffic plunged. Halloween, which was on a Friday, was unusually slow owing to the effect of the picket line. Caesars has attempted to lure in scabs from Harrah’s Hoosier Park with $45 per hour pay and $50 gas cards. They also began hosting “banquets” for high-tier customers (Diamond, Seven Star, GM Club) in an attempt to appear unaffected. Many of those elite customers, however, have joined the strike publicly and announced they will boycott Horseshoe until the union is recognized.

Striking workers kept the picket lines militant, loud and visible. No player was able to get into the casino without being talked to by the striking dealers and given a flyer, asking them not to cross. With thundering chants of, “What do we want? Union! When do we want it? Now!” and “If we don't get it? Shut it down!,” customers either pledged to not cross in the future or complained to their hosts inside about the strike. Both responses help the strike.

Feeling this pressure, Caesars turned to its puppets in the city of Shelbyville. For 20 lawful days, strikers picketed on the public easements along North Michigan Road, land that has been public since the city moved the road in 2007. But on November 5, in a backroom maneuver, the city suddenly declared nearly all land beside the curb to be private Caesars property – even though the casino does not maintain, plow, pave, or own the roadway and cannot legally “own” public right-of-way.

Shelbyville police, standing shoulder to shoulder with casino security and management, attempted to forcibly evict the strikers from their lawful picket areas.

Teamsters Local 135 President Dustin Roach and Dairy Teamster Brody Kanouse refused to retreat, in an act of civil disobedience. Police sought trespass warrants, but a judge declined, noting that officers could not prove the workers were not on public easement. Workers stood on the public land across the street, chanting “Shame!” as officers and managers ripped apart their tents and canopies, which were erected on a public easement to withstand the cold and the rain.

Dealers fight back: Legal action, political pressure and escalation

That night, over 100 striking workers and supporters flooded the Shelbyville city council meeting, the largest turnout in decades. Workers demanded that the city stop acting as an arm of Caesars Entertainment and defend working families instead of corporate power.

On November 6, Local 135 filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction against the city of Shelbyville and the Shelbyville Police Department for violating workers’ First Amendment rights, their NLRA-protected right to picket, and the protections guaranteed by the Indiana Constitution.

On November 7, a federal judge ordered the city to respond by Monday at noon, with union rebuttal due at 4 p.m. A ruling is expected shortly thereafter. The union is demanding full injunctive relief to restore strikers’ rights to picket on long-established public easements.

Meanwhile, strikers continue holding the line from a smaller section of confirmed public land across the road – complete with Scabby the Rat towering over the entrance for anyone who chooses to cross.

The significance of the recognition strike

Recognition strikes were once common before the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, but today, they are almost unheard of. Very few private-sector unions have struck for recognition in a generation. The Horseshoe Indianapolis dealers and dual rates are doing what workers did in the 1910s, 1920s and early 1930s: using the strike itself as the democratic mechanism to win a union when the legal process has been weaponized against them.

Their decision to strike has already changed the political landscape in Shelbyville and forced national attention onto Caesars’ conduct. Workers say they will continue the strike “one day longer, one day stronger” until Horseshoe recognizes the union and respects their right to collectively bargain a decent contract.

Whether the judge grants the injunction or not, the workers remain resolute in the fight to break management and have the union they formed recognized.

#ShelbyvilleIN #IN #Labor #Teamsters #Strike #Feature

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.

The picket line is open to public support out front of the Horseshoe Indianapolis casino on 4300 N Michigan Road, Shelbyville, Indiana.

#ShelbyvilleIN #IN #Labor #Teamsters #IBT135 #Strike #Feature

Shelbyville, IN – Table games dealers and dual rates at the Horseshoe Indianapolis casino have authorized a strike for union recognition.

At an October 14 press conference, Teamsters Local 135 President Dustin Roach announced that 92% of dealers and dual rates voted yes to authorize a strike. The vote, held on October 10 directly across from the casino, saw participation by a strong majority of both groups.

Roach was joined by more than 50 dealers and dual rates carrying “Teamster power” signs and a banner reading “Respect is a Teamster contract.” After addressing the press, the group chanted, “Tick tock, you’re on the clock,” signaling the countdown to a potential work stoppage if management refuses to recognize the union.

Background

Horseshoe Indianapolis is owned by Caesars Entertainment and ranks as the company’s second-most profitable property outside of Las Vegas, earning $336 million last year.

Most workers at Horseshoe are already covered by a union contract bargained by three unions that make up the Central Indiana Gaming Council. Teamsters Local 135 represents all slot attendants and warehouse workers at the casino.

This year, the largest remaining group of nonunion casino workers – nearly 200 table games dealers and 30–40 “dual rates,” who split their workweek as dealers and floor leads, launched an organizing campaign with Teamsters Local 135. They demanded union recognition on September 4.

Management refused to recognize the union voluntarily, leading Local 135 to file for an election through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The union proposed a vote three weeks from filing; management pushed for October 17 instead. To avoid further delay, the union agreed.

Horseshoe management also tried to divide the workforce by claiming that dual rates were supervisors and ineligible to join the union. The union rejected that tactic and successfully secured their eligibility to vote “subject to challenge.”

Corporate union-busting

According to the union, Horseshoe management launched an aggressive anti-union campaign after workers demanded recognition. Managers held small-group and one-on-one meetings, threatened pro-union employees, and flooded casino TVs with anti-union propaganda. Teamsters Local 135 has filed multiple unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB.

At the center of this campaign is Littler Mendelson, a high-priced anti-union law firm known for helping corporations block organizing drives.

Dealers and dual rates say, “Enough is enough”

Dealer Ericka Hacker said working conditions have worsened even as Horseshoe’s profits have soared.

“Over the last two or three years, things have changed—and not for the better,” Hacker said. “Corporate has become increasingly focused on profits over people. Dealers who helped build this department since it launched in 2020 are now being rewarded with insulting 3% raises—just 11 cents an hour—and that’s only if you qualify.”

She added that management has “taken away our Christmas bonuses,” forced workers to work through “pre-approved vacations, floods and gas leaks,” and changed short-term disability benefits without notice.

“Instead of listening to our concerns, we’re told we’re replaceable,” Hacker said. “We’re tired—tired of being undervalued, tired of being ignored, tired of corporate pocketing record profits while the workers who keep this place running get the short end of the stick. That’s why my coworkers and I are coming together to form a union and team up with Teamsters Local 135 to give us a voice.”

Government shutdown

On October 1, Congress failed to pass a spending bill, triggering a federal government shutdown that halted operations at the NLRB. The agency announced that all scheduled elections and hearings were “postponed indefinitely.”

“Our union election was scheduled for October 17 but was delayed due to the shutdown,” said Zachary Holbrook, a dual rate at Horseshoe. “In good faith, we proposed moving forward with a neutral third party to oversee the election. But management chose to ignore that request and instead used the delay to spread fear and misinformation.”

Horseshoe management has ignored Local 135’s proposal, which would have protected workers’ right to vote in their scheduled election.

Strike authorization

With no timeline for a government reopening—or for rescheduling the NLRB election—the organizing committee held a strike authorization vote on October 10.

If the company continues to ignore the workers’ demand for recognition, Local 135 says a strike could begin as early as this week.

Roach made it clear that the union is prepared to stand its ground.

“Let me be clear: if Horseshoe casino thinks they can steal, intimidate or silence these workers, they’re dead wrong,” Roach said. “Local 135 will stand shoulder to shoulder with these dealers and dual rates until their voices are heard, their rights are respected, and their union is recognized. The time for excuses is over. It’s time for justice.”

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