Pro-Smoking Union Boss Donna DeCaprio Elected Atlantic City Casino Workers’ Lead

In what Unite Here Local 54 deems a “historic” occasion, Donna DeCaprio has won the union’s first uncontested election in almost 40 years. 

Unite Here Local 54 represents over 12,000 hospitality employees in South New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware, which includes thousands of workers at the nine casino resorts located in Atlantic City. 

Union members are employed in various roles, including housekeepers, bartenders, servers, chefs, bell staff, door attendants, and other service positions. The trade association does not represent gaming employees such as table game dealers, slot attendants, or casino hosts. 

In July 2023, DeCaprio took over from Bob McDevitt, who had been the president of Unite Here Local 54 for more than 25 years, after McDevitt resigned in March for health issues. Before her promotion, DeCaprio served as the financial secretary-treasurer of Local 54. 

On Friday, DeCaprio secured her initial victory in the union presidential election without any competition.

"I am honored and humbled to lead this union at such a pivotal moment. We have proven that when workers stand together, we can win real change,” said DeCaprio. “I look forward to building on our successes, growing our movement, and ensuring every hospitality worker has the dignity and respect they deserve.”

A statement from Local 54 acknowledged DeCaprio for “leading the union to its historic contract win in 2022, which obtained wage hikes, enhanced benefits, and robust job protections for numerous casino employees in Atlantic City.” 

Pro-Casino Tobacco Use 

With downstate New York casinos on the horizon, and in-person gross gaming revenue in Atlantic City declining by 1.1% last year — a trend in retail gaming that’s persisted into 2025 — some argue it’s not the right moment to prohibit smoking in casinos along the New Jersey shore. Numerous casino employees, however, contend they are entitled to work in a setting without secondhand smoke. 

Casino employees, united as CEASE — Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects — persist in urging state legislators to enact laws to eliminate the casino smoking exemption. DeCaprio will not serve as their advocate in that endeavor, even though her union represents part of the CEASE membership. 

Only weeks after taking over from McDevitt, DeCaprio compared a ban on smoking in casinos to economic “suicide.” In a conversation with the Associated Press, DeCaprio stated that a total ban on tobacco smoking across the nine gaming floors “would be a suicide pact.” 

Smoking is still permitted in some casinos in nearby Philadelphia, while casinos in Delaware, Maryland, and the upcoming downstate New York casinos are free of smoke. 

The Significance of Smoking is Challenged 

Casino gaming and smoking used to be closely associated, but as smoking rates keep falling, some gaming experts think that smoke-free venues can be just as competitive, if not more so, than those allowing smoking. 

Parx, a smoke-free casino in Pennsylvania, has consistently been the highest-grossing casino among the state's 17 physical casinos. 

The New Jersey Department of Health states in its Health Assessment that roughly 11% of adults in the Garden State smoke cigarettes. In Atlantic County, one of the state's poorest counties, approximately 17% of adults frequently smoke. 

According to the American Lung Association, the smoking rate among adults nationwide stands at 11.6%. That's nearly a 50% decrease since 2001.