Living Wage Ruling Gives Queens Casino Workers a Fighting Chance Sandra Charles, a security officer at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, had her salary double after a labor arbitrator ruled that the casino management had to pay workers a living wage. For the fast-food workers who demonstrated across the country this month, it is only a dream. For many economists and policy makers, it is the subject of intense debate. But there is nothing hypothetical about the living wage for Sandra Charles, a security officer and single mother. For her, it is real, tangible and gloriously life-changing. In October, Ms. Charles and 1,374 of her colleagues at the Resorts World Casino in Queens took an unexpected leap toward the middle class when a labor arbitrator ordered the casino management to pay them a living wage, issuing a ruling that doubled their average paychecks. Overnight, the average annual salaries of the cooks, parking attendants, slot machine workers, security guards and other low-wage staff members shot up from about $20,000 to nearly $40,000. By 2016, according to the new three-year contract signed by the casino management and the workers" union, most employees at Resorts World will earn $60,000 a year. You heard that right: Sixty thousand dollars a year. In a city that boasts of its appeal to billionaires, this might not sound like much. But for the hundreds of casino workers, many of whom had relied on food stamps and second and third jobs to get by, it is nothing short of staggering. Ms. Charles still weeps when she describes how her life has changed. For her, this is a season of miracles. "This gives us a breakthrough that no one ever dreamt of," said Ms. Charles, 47, who no longer spends sleepless nights worrying about paying rent. Her older daughter, who had dropped out of college to work, plans to enroll in classes come January. Her younger daughter, whose prescription for eyeglasses expired nine months ago, has a brand new pair. In the spring, Ms. Charles plans to move with her girls into a two-bedroom apartment. For the first time, she says, she will sleep in her own bedroom, not on the couch. "I can pay my bills," she marveled. I can save. I can take care of my kids. The push for a living wage has gathered steam as some unions, states and municipalities move to help struggling workers. But of the more than 130 localities that have approved living wage laws, precious few have increased salaries so drastically, said Stephanie Luce, an associate professor of labor studies at the City University of New York, who testified on behalf of the union in the arbitration hearing. New York City's living wage law, for instance, requires companies that receive $1 million or more in city subsidies to pay at least $10 an hour with benefits or $11.50 an hour without benefits. The casino workers, by contrast, now earn on average $20.50 an hour, plus benefits. Few campaigners are pushing for that level of pay, given concerns among some city officials and company executives about the cost of higher wages. But Resorts World, which has been spectacularly successful, did not dispute its ability to pay the salaries sought by the union, the Hotel Trades Council. The casino, which opened two years ago in southeastern Queens, attracts 35,000 visitors a day. It posted revenues of $696.5 million in the year ended in March and its electronic slot machines averaged $432 each a day in September, considerably more than slot machines in Atlantic City, Connecticut or Las Vegas. The contract between the casino and union went to arbitration when the two sides reached an impasse on wages and other issues. The accord is certainly singular. But it shows how a real living wage - one that allows workers to support themselves and their families without government assistance - can transform lives. Taliea Holmes, 26, who works the slot machines and racked up thousands of dollars in debt after surgery to remove gall stones, can go to the doctor without going broke now that she has health benefits. Craig Caras, a 42-year-old parking attendant, will not have to moonlight as a bus driver anymore. He plans to rent a flute so his daughter can finally play an instrument at school. Given the high cost of living in New York City, many employees will still be categorized as near poor, particularly during the first year of the agreement. "It's not making you rich," Mr. Caras said. It's just giving you a fighting chance. It is also giving the Charles family a holiday like no other. In the past, the only presents under the Christmas tree have come from relatives. This year, there are gifts from Ms. Charles under the evergreen, which glimmers with stars and angels. "When you go into the living room," Ms. Charles said, "you feel that it's Christmas."