The Rhode Island General Assembly does not see casino workers as people entitled to a healthy workplace

“Rhode Island casino worker's civil rights are being violated daily. We are being abused & assaulted by cigarettes and cigar smoke 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we deserve to breathe fresh air."

On Tuesday, workers from Rhode Island casinos, Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton, held a rally and press conference to raise awareness about the hazardous conditions for employees and guests at Rhode Island’s casinos due to secondhand smoke.

“We’re here today because for the last 20 years there has been a grave injustice happening in our casinos,” said State Representative Teresa Tanzi, who emceed the press conference. “Twenty years ago, we passed a law to ban smoking in workplaces to ensure that workers were not exposed to carcinogens and cancer-causing elements, but there’s only one group of people in this state who were left behind - casino workers - and they are not going to stand for it.”

Representative Tanzi and State Senator Susan Sosnowski have introduced bills, H5464 and S0188, to ban smoking in Rhode Island casinos. This is the fourth year that the General Assembly has taken up the legislation, and it’s become more difficult every year to understand why these workers’ lungs, health, and safety are less important than the lungs, health, and safety of every other working Rhode Islander.

“As a healthcare union, we can understand that making sure you have a safe work environment and a safe place to do your job is unbelievably important, and we support the fact that workers deserve a smoke-free workplace,” said Jesse Martin, Executive Vice President for the largest healthcare union in the state of Rhode Island, SEIU 1199 New England. “We respect that people deserve the ability to do their work free from injury or these types of concerns. On behalf of our members at Butler Hospital across the state, we think all workers should have a safe work environment.”

“I’m not a union member,” said Representative Tanzi. “I’m not a union leader, but you all are my brothers and sisters and 100% deserve safe, smoke-free workplaces. I’ve been in this building for 15 years. I’ve been working on this legislation to get smoking out of the casinos for the last four years. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to work. We’re not supposed to put profits over the lives of people. These workers, day in and day out, are doing a service for our state. We make millions every year from the casinos, and who’s bearing the cost of our inaction? Our workers - and it’s not fair.”

Vanessa Baker, an iGaming supervisor at Bally’s Lincoln casino, helps lead the effort for smoke-free casinos in Rhode Island. She noted the support for the effort from the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, the Americans for Non-Smokers’ Rights Foundation, Kids Free Tobacco, and the AFL-CIO.

“Rhode Island casino workers’ civil rights are being violated daily,” said Baker. “We are being abused and assaulted by cigarettes and cigar smoke 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we deserve to breathe fresh air. Rhode Island casinos allow their employees’ and patrons’ safety and wellbeing to be at constant risk and show the state that their employees are expendable. Why, and at what cost, are we expendable?

“During the pandemic, we had two wonderful years of a smoke-free workplace. We became healthier and more energetic. In March of 2022, smoking was reinstated in the casinos, and all our lives changed for the worse. Twenty years ago, the original Public Health and Workplace Safety Act of 2005 banned smoking indoors and in designated areas at outdoor venues. Even state parks and state beaches have no smoking worker protection. Excluding casinos was not right then, and it’s not right now. No smoking means no smoking anywhere. One hundred percent no smoking is the only way to protect the workers and our customers. We are pleading with the senators and representatives to follow the science and protect Rhode Island casino employees because we’re human beings who deserve a career in a smoke-free environment, just as they enjoy a smoke-free environment. They must bring Senate Bill 188 and House Bill 5464 to the floor for a vote.”

Megan Takarian has worked at Bally’s Twin River for 14 years.

“I’ve served drinks, handled customers, and worked double shifts,” said Takarian. “I’ve given this job everything I have, but in all this time, there’s one thing we haven’t had at work: clean air. Every day, I’ve gone into work with congestion, headaches, and cigarette smoke clinging to my clothes - not because I smoke, but because I’m forced to work in it. I’ve watched my coworkers get sick, develop asthma, and worse.

“We’re the only workers in Rhode Island left behind by the state’s indoor smoking laws, and the truth is we’re sick of it. Senator Frank Ciccone [now Senate Majority Leader] recently questioned why the issue is getting so much attention and why people suddenly care. He said it’s only since COVID that it’s become an issue with us. And I say, yes, that is true. The world changed after COVID, and thank God it did. The pandemic forced all of us to look at health differently. It reminded us how fragile life is. It made people start asking questions like, ‘Why do I have to risk my life or my health to do this?’

“For me, the awakening became personal. I decided to go back to school and found a new purpose at law school, not just because I want a different job, better pay, or to avoid working nights for the rest of my life. I discovered something I care about deeply: advocacy. When I was 20 years old, I never imagined walking into the casino for the first time that I would have been there this long. I stayed because I genuinely enjoyed other aspects of my job: the pay, the convenience of working at a 24-hour business, and the social nature of the job.

“I’m not ashamed of that,” continued Takarian. “I’m passionate about fighting for people who are overlooked - people like my coworkers, who show up to work every day and are told their health doesn’t matter. I want to be a lawyer so I can help people stand up to injustices, but before I graduate, I need to survive, and I don’t want the smoke to kill me before I earn my degree. I don’t want to die from secondhand smoking - neither do any of my coworkers. I don’t want to see any of my coworkers with a cancer diagnosis like the three I know.

“I want to live long enough to practice law, make a difference in people’s lives, and change the systems that force people to choose between survival and security. This isn’t about a few voices speaking out: We have the support of major labor leaders across the state - the Rhode Island AFL-CIO supports us making casinos smoke-free. They understand that no job should come with health hazards, and they clarified that casino workers deserve the same protections as every other worker in the state.

“But I have to call out the fact that my union, the largest union in the casino industry, Unite Here! Local 26 has not stood with its members. Each year, the casino union has disregarded our concerns. They raise our union dues and fight for raises, but when it comes to our health, where is our union? They’re not here with us today. We pay $18 weekly to a union that isn’t concerned about our health and safety. I’m calling out Jenna Carlin and Carlo Amarillo to stand with us. You belong here with us. We’re the only union in the casino that does not have representation, and we have the right to a safe work environment like everyone else. We’re asking for the same protections as every worker in the state to have clean air. If we can raise dues and fight for raises, we can fight for our air quality in the casino.

“Let’s not shame people for being more health conscious after COVID,” concluded Takarian. “Let’s celebrate it, take what we’ve learned, and build a safer workplace for everyone. Yes, I chose to work at Twin River, I accept that, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have room to grow, adapt, and do better. We live in a society that values health more than ever, and we need to reflect that in our laws. We’re not asking for a favor, we’re asking for fairness. We’re asking to be treated like every other worker in the state - with dignity and the right to clean air. Please support our bill.”

Philip Farinelli is a floor supervisor at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino.

“Here we are again. Four years in a row. I can’t believe it,” said Farinelli. “The Senator said that we’ve been concerned ever since COVID. We were concerned about that before. We accepted it because it has been the norm in this industry for the last 50 or 60 years. But it’s not 1950 or 1960 anymore. Everyone is very aware of their health now. I have suffered from third-stage neck and head cancer and first-stage lung cancer. I had a heart attack, and I’m still here fighting so I can work in a healthy environment.

“We need to work in a healthy, smoke-free environment, like everybody else in the State of Rhode Island. You can’t smoke in the ACI, you can’t smoke in the state parks, and you can’t smoke here in the State House. I just took a selfie with a no-smoking sign here. How come they get the no-smoke? How come we don’t get no-smoke? It’s not understandable. It’s a question of fairness.

“We deserve a healthy environment. Ever since COVID, we’ve become more concerned with our health. We learned that secondhand smoke causes respiratory diseases. We all suffer from runny noses and itchy eyes every day. It’s terrible. I don’t have any other words. I wish you all a wonderful and happy smoke-free environment so you can work, live, and provide for your families day in and day out.”

Matthew Dunham is the president of Local 711, representing over 600 dealers at both Bally’s casinos.

“I’m going to keep it short and sweet,” said Dunham. “We’ve heard a lot of the facts. Many of my members have told you that what we’re asking for is just the right thing to do, and a lot of times, when it comes to the right thing to do, you have to make people do it. I’m proud to stand here with SEIU and LiUNA members to make our legislature finally do the right thing after years of fighting for it.

“We’ve done this for four years, and I’ve never felt more energy than I have now. I’m proud of all of you for showing up.”

Bill DeSanto has been dealing at Twin River for seven years.

“The situation there is terrible with all of the smoke,” said DeSanto. “Smoke-free casinos are more profitable than casinos that allow smoking indoors. The Parks Casino in Pennsylvania is the only non-smoking casino and has been number one for the last five years. The new Parks Casino in Vegas is the only smoke-free casino on the strip - profits went up 7% this past year. Everywhere you look, profits are going up - except Bally’s. This past year, we lost 5.1% of revenue. Meanwhile, our smoke-free partners in Connecticut are up 2% for Foxwoods and up 2.6% for Mohegan Sun. Everywhere you look, every study.

“Only 20% of people smoke. That means 80% don’t. You’re catering to 20% of people. That doesn’t even make sense.

“The last number I want to throw out at you, the last study done with gamblers asked, ‘What is the number one reason you choose your casino?’ Of course, proximity was number one. It’s the closest casino for most people. Only 4% of people said they choose their casino based on the fact that it allows smoking. On the other hand, 24%, six times as many, chose their casino based on the fact that it did not allow indoor smoking. That is a competitive advantage,” concluded Dunham. “It’s not just people who are important. If they want profits, go smoke-free. You’ll make everybody healthier, and you will make more money for the taxpayers of Rhode Island.”

Autumn Guillotte is with the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, representing over 80,000 Rhode Island workers, including the workers at Bally’s Twin River Casino and the casino in Tiverton.

“There are over 11 unions represented in that building,” said Guillotte. “It is one of the most union-dense buildings in Rhode Island. When we fight for a smoke-free, healthy facility, we are fighting for all the workers in the building. This is about worker safety. The workers generate 60% of the revenue for the State of Rhode Island. That is money for our state, and it’s our responsibility to care for those workers. These are about people who love the job that they do. They love the families they support with this work, and they love our state. It’s time for the state to take care of them.”