Pennsylvania Casino Workers Tell Lawmakers to Close Indoor Smoking Loophole

Pennsylvania casino workers testified before lawmakers in capital of Pennsylvania on Midweek locution the state’s on-going adjustment of indoor smoking on designated parts of the gaming floors is jeopardizing their health.

State Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Alleghany) this week introduced another bill that seeks to terminal the casinos’ carveout from the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act. The smoking jurisprudence allows casinos to designate upwards to half of their gaming blank space for indoor smoking.

The Clean Indoor Air Act also provides exceptions for bars where alcoholic drink generates the bulk of the business’s revenue, and for cigar lounges, private clubs, and biovular organizations same the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars).

Frankel, for the second yr inwards a row, is seeking to do away with tobacco smoking from casinos and other establishments excluded from the plumb indoor airwave law. He says the old manufacture arguments that making casinos proceed smoke-free damages their businesses are outdated.

“Smoke-free environments pull in to a greater extent customers — not fewer,” Frankel said this week.

Casino Workers Stress Urgency

Along with wellness officials, the PA House Health Committee, which Frankel chairs, welcomed gambling casino workers to prove before the commission inwards its survey of House Bill 1657.

“Smoke-free casinos are non just a breather of unused broadcast for us workers, but they’re proving to follow winners for the industry,” said Jen Rubolino, a table games dealer at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh inward denotation to Parx deciding to remain smoke-free inwards the COVID-19 aftermath.

Parx endure twelvemonth generated brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $393.8 zillion from its expansion slot machines and $204.8 zillion from its tables. Parx’s combined hale of about $598.6 1000000 inwards 2022 GGR bested its nighest competitor, Wind Creek Bethlehem, past nearly $83 million.

“We make seen the grounds firsthand. Parx is leading the complaint with smoke-free venues and industry-leading profits,” Rubolino said.

Parx and its satellite property, Parx Casino Shippensburg, are the only if deuce among Pennsylvania’s 18 casinos to offer up to the full smoke-free gaming spaces.

Rubolino is the co-leader of the Pennsylvania chapter of CEASE, Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects. Along with the Keystone State, the grassroots fusion of casino workers has unionized chapters inwards New Jersey, Rhode Island, Kansas, and Virginia.

I’m speaking on behalf of casino workers and gambling casino patrons end-to-end Pennsylvania. I’ve been working as a table games dealer since 2019. When I started, I was excited virtually workings inward the cassino and dealing cards. But the smoke is terrible.”

“This goes on every twenty-four hours for thousands of casino workers. Eight hours a day, 40 hours a week, as they spell to piece of work to urinate a living,” Rubolino testified. “This should non be happening.”

Rubolino added that cassino workers are “discriminated against” in the state’s Clean Indoor Air At.

“Casino workers are people, too, and they merit novel air,” she continued. “You shouldn’t experience to choose betwixt your health and a paycheck. i come up hither today on behalf of all casino workers to require for your living on House Bill 1657.”

Casinos Absent, VFW Supports Bill

No representatives from the cassino manufacture testified before the House Health Committee during its review article of Frankel’s bill.

They were invited to go to but chose non to,” Frankel said. “I thought they would accede testimony, but they haven’t.”

John Getz, the state quartermaster of the VFW Department of Pennsylvania, testified that there’s been a lot of “infighting” among VFW chapters regarding whether to take into account indoor smoking.

Getz testified that in the past, VFWs that opted to go game smoke-free saw infuse membership declines. But inwards more recent years, and inward the pandemic’s aftermath, the majority of VFW chapters get gone smoke-free. Getz said the organisation supports Frankel’s note in hopes that it would solve the remaining chapter infighting nigh smoking.

The House Health Committee didn’t voter turnout on the smoking bill. Frankel said it’s the Health Committee’s responsibility to “protect the health of Pennsylvanians.” The committee next meets on September 27.

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