Food workers go on strike at Mountaineer

CHESTER, W.Va. (AP) — Employees represented by the United Food & Commercial Workers are on strike at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.

Some 200 members of the labor union’s Local 23 walked out at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and set up picket lines outside the track and casino, across the Ohio River from East Liverpool, Ohio.

“Fifty to 60 people out here picketing, cars driving by honking their horns, waving,” union spokesman Kevin Kilroy said Saturday, adding that some vehicles have turned around and left after seeing picketers.

But Mountaineer spokeswoman Tamara Pettit says the track, resort and casino were operating smoothly despite the loss of about 9 percent of the work force. Managers and supervisors are filling in for striking cashiers, slot technicians and money room workers.

“It is business as usual,” she said Saturday. “It was very crowded last night.”

The union’s contract with Mountaineer expired March 1, and the UFCW authorized a strike last week after rejecting what the track called its final offer.

The contract dispute centers on pay. Local 23 contends Mountaineer lags behind competitors in wages and benefits, paying the unit an average wage of just $9.34 an hour.