585 employees at IP Casino join union

BILOXI -- Through a union card check, employees in three departments at IP Casino Resort said they want to join the Unite Here union.

David Strow, spokesman for IP Casino parent company Boyd Gaming, said the union card check was held at the beginning of the year, and more than half of the employees in the housekeeping, food and beverage and uniform services departments indicated they wanted to join the union.

"We're going to respect the wishes of our team members to be represented by that union," he said.

The same union represents Boyd Gaming employees in other states. Strow said once the employees in Biloxi indicated their wishes to join, the company agrees to recognize the union and engage in contract negotiations.

IP Casino had 1,442 employees at the end of the year, according to the quarterly report by the Mississippi Gaming Commission. The 585 employees who will be represented by the union are 41 percent of the current workforce.

Few casino employees in Mississippi are union members.

Unite Here has 263,000 members, according to its website, $107 million in assets and represents workers in the U.S. and Canada who in the casino, hotel, food service, airport, textile, manufacturing, distribution, laundry and transportation industries.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 3:42 PM with the headline "585 employees at IP Casino join union ."