‘We want to be able to survive’: Atlantic City casino workers to strike over wages

Demand for a new union contract that raises wages to cover rising cost of living and to attract workers in understaffed departments

Like all casino towns, Atlantic City in New Jersey trades on a public image of get-rich-quick success where a little slice of luck can deliver the good life. But for thousands of workers who toil in the city's casinos, hotels, restaurants and shops, that image is in stark contrast to reality.

Irina Sanchez, a housekeeper at Caesars Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City since 1998, has been struggling with increases in rent, gas and food, which has made it even more difficult to care for her daughter with diabetes.