To the Editor,
I’m a member of the Eastern Band from Cherokee County and looked forward to the coming of the Casino (Harrah’s River Valley) to Murphy. I retired as a carpenter, but made very little on Social Security, and wanted to work a few more years. I took a job as a “bar-back”, keeping the four bars supplied with beer, drinks, ice, etc., taking out trash, mopping, and restocking the syrup room. Being the only one on duty most of the time, it was a pretty hard job, being constantly on the go.
I had to buy good shoes and black pants. It was only part-time, and I learned I’d have to work a year at eight dollars an hour before I would be considered for a raise. My take-home pay, after taxes, was pathetic. I stayed one month and decided it wasn’t worth it. In that month I didn’t make enough to cover what I had to spend on clothes.
Almost all the jobs offered are part-time, low-paying jobs. As a member of the Tribe and part owner of those casinos, I’m not proud that the workers are paid so little. With all the millions they take in, the workers should make a living wage and be offered full-time positions. Eight dollars an hour sucks.
Don Michael Moore
Marble
