| Atlantic City, NJ – Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects (CEASE) – which consists of thousands of casino workers who are forced to breathe secondhand smoke at their workplaces every day – released the following statement responding to a new video of Casino Association of New Jersey President Joe Lupo today speaking at a Public Relations Council lunch today in Atlantic City. Lupo said: “I don’t believe that 30 people walking down the boardwalk represent the 21,000 employees.”
“Joe Lupo should not be mocking casino employees who simply want a safe workplace. Whether it’s 30 workers or the thousands who have joined CEASE, we deserve respect and a voice in our own health and safety,” said Pete Naccarelli, co-founder of CEASE. “Even worse, though, is that Joe Lupo is leading the fight to keep forcing us to breathe secondhand smoke on the job, employing tired scare tactics and hanging on to outdated business practices. Joe Lupo owes an apology to the thousands of Atlantic City casino workers who are bravely speaking up against casino bosses like him. After all, those ‘30 employees walking down the boardwalk’ have built a robust, broad and bipartisan coalition, including Governor Murphy and legislators representing Atlantic City, that supports finally closing the casino smoking loophole. He is on the wrong side of history.”
Background
Thousands of casino workers have joined CEASE since last summer to march on the boardwalk, protest and rally outside of Harrah’s and gather in Trenton in December to fight for their health. A new video published last month, “A Loophole in NJ Law Is Killing Casino Workers,” highlights the urgency of the casino workers’ fight to close the casino loophole.
Casino Employees Against Smoking’s (Harmful) Effects (CEASE) is a group of thousands of casino dealers and other frontline gaming workers that formed after indoor smoking returned on July 4, 2021 and is fighting to permanently remove smoking from our workplaces. For more information, visit ceasesmoking.org. |
