Carl Icahn Frustrated Over Casino Union And Calls Them Mobsters
The Trump Taj Mahal applied for bankruptcy in 2014 as the failing casino was unable to come up with a consistent plan of paying its debtors and then pulling itself out of financial debt. The casino planned to shutdown operations, sack its employees and work out a deal with New Jersey state authorities.
However, billionaire Carl Icahn stepped forward and proposed to bail out the failing casino and turn it into a money making machine once again. The Icahn group lent $20 million to the Trump Taj Mahal and asked casino owners to continuing entertaining customers and look to keep the business afloat. Icahn has worked with struggling casinos before and had success in turning them around.
Icahn was initially reluctant to take on the challenge as the Trump Taj Mahal had accumulated huge amounts of debut was Icahn finally accepted the challenge as he said he did not want thousands of good employees losing their jobs when there was a possible solution. Icahn and his executive team are now looking to revive the fortunes of the Trump Taj Mahal and have proposed a number of changes.
One of those changes calls for the review of employee remuneration and benefits. Carl Icahn and his team want casino employees to be prepared to take a lower salary along with lesser benefits in order to help turn the casino around. Icahn told employees that has not taking away their jobs but instead wanted to them to co-operate and sacrifice in an attempt to turn the Taj Mahal around.
Employees were asked to forfeit some of their benefits and be prepared for tighter financial restrictions.
This request by the Icahn group has not gone down well with the casino employee union who feel it is completely unfair for the Icahn group to stop and restrict the pension of any given individual. The casino union has protested against such a move and expects Icahn to pay them the same salaries and benefits like before.
Icahn has expressed his disappointing at the attitude of the casino union representatives. In a statement, Icahn said
Over the last five years, while the Taj Mahal has gone bankrupt not just once, but twice, your Unite-HERE health plan has made $140 million in net income. Yet even against the backdrop of your employer entering bankruptcy for the second time in five years, your union leadership continues to demand that the Taj make exorbitant contributions to the profitable Unite-HERE health plan, or else suffer labor unrest
