Clinton to Bash Trump at Site Of Atlantic City Casino Strike

Hillary Clinton is coming to Atlantic City to bash Donald Trump’s handling of his former gambling empire, but striking casino workers say their beef is with a different billionaire.

Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union went on strike Friday against the Trump Taj Mahal casino, which bears the name of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee but now belongs to his friend Carl Icahn. But Clinton said she intends to travel there on Wednesday “to make the case that Donald Trump is unfit to serve as president based on the wake of destruction his business dealings have left in the seaside town and for businesses and families across the country.”

But several striking workers who worked under Trump for decades said Tuesday they had no problems working for him. They emphasized their fight is with Icahn, who took control of the casino in March after rescuing it from bankruptcy court.

“It depends if she comes here with her own agenda,” said Richard Zak, a bartender at the Taj Mahal since the day it opened in 1990. “If she comes here to bash Trump, how does that help us? When he was here running the place, things were fine. We never had to worry about a contract, and we were always open during strikes when other places couldn’t reach contracts.”

Douglas Faulkner has worked as a cook at the Taj Mahal for 17 years. Before that, he worked at the now-shuttered Trump Plaza for 12 years.

“When Donald Trump was here, it was OK,” he said. “We had plenty of business.”

This article appeared in print on page 32 of the July 6th, 2016 edition of Hamodia.