On Friday afternoon, unionized valet employees of the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island went on strike. Employees of the casino have been persistent in a fight to ensure they receive quality health benefits. A few weeks ago, food and beverage workers went on strike to due to healthcare plan cuts and the valets were next in line in the fight.
The unionized valet workers went on strike on Friday around 1:30 pm. Valets formed a picket line and would stand their ground for two days, through the nighttime hours, ending the strike at 7am yesterday. Valets have returned to work and the demonstration was made in the hopes that casino management will not make drastic changes to their healthcare plans.
Patti Doyle, a spokesperson for Twin River, stated that plans had been made to handle guests needs during the strike and during the time frame of the strike, the casino remained busy and had two successful nights of business, with the strike seemingly not affecting the daily operations whatsoever. Valet workers have not commented on their strike and it remains to be seen if a deal will be made between the union and the casino in regards to healthcare plans for valet workers.