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War Of Words In Atlantic City

"'Harrah's, Caesars, Tropicana and Resorts want to talk about everything but the truth!' the union countered in an ad of its own. 'That's because the truth is ugly.'

"The pen is mightier than the sword, the saying goes. So warring factions in a 21/2-week strike by 10,000 service workers are using it in hopes it will somehow write an end to the whole mess.

"In full-page advertisements in The Press of Atlantic City, the two sides wage a war of words aimed at striking members of Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union.

"The casinos criticize union leaders, list the selling points of their contract offers and remind cash-strapped strikers that their bills are going unpaid.

"One ad pictured an array of utility, telephone and department store bills with the words "Past Due" stamped on them, a none-too-subtle reminder that strikers would make more money working than the $200 to $300 they make weekly in strike pay.

"...To casinos, the ads -- which cost up to $5,000 apiece to place -- are a way to reach out to individual workers.

"...Robert McDevitt, president of Local 54, called the ads deceptive but said they have had no impact on the number of pickets outside casinos or on the number of union members who have decided to return the work..."

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