Casino job fairs draw Ariz., N.M. applicants

WINDOW ROCK, July 3, 2008

T

hey came from near and far, the old and the young, all with one goal - get a job at the Navajo Nation's first casino.

In the past two weeks, the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise held two jobs fairs, one in Window Rock and another in Church Rock, N.M., site of the first casino.

Between the two, more than 2,300 Navajos submitted applications for the 200 or so jobs that the tribe is opening to fill between now and when it is expected to open this fall.

"We ended up with a lot of applications," said Renee Martin, director of human resources for the enterprise.

At the Church Rock fair, most of the applicants were from New Mexico, with some from as far away as Albuquerque. The Window Rock fair attracted applicants from all over Arizona, including Phoenix and Tucson.

The 300 jobs range from dishwater to higher level casino management.

In terms of pay, said Martin, the casino salaries will be higher than those offered in this area with the minimum salary for those not getting tips set at $8.25 an hour.

"Those who will be getting tips will be paid a little less," she said, adding that the average salary being paid at the casino will be about $24,000 a year.

That's why a number of the applicants who applied are people who have waitress and hotel jobs in the Gallup area. She said there were also a number of people who applied who have jobs at other casinos in Arizona and New Mexico.

All of the positions, including those for the waiting staff and dishwashers, require a minimum of a high school diploma or a GED, with some of the more technical positions requiring some college and/or casino experience.

This wasn't a problem at the job fair, said Martin, since the applications she has gone through so far have all met these requirements.

A couple applicants reported felonies on their application and were told these would probably result in their application being rejected.

She stressed that the enterprise is hoping to hire Navajos in as many positions as possible, even for the top-level managerial positions. There have even been a few Navajos who have applied who have some managerial experience.

If the enterprise isn't able to find qualified Navajos, she added, plans are to advertise nationwide to fill the positions with the idea that if non-Navajos are hired they would be expected to train Navajos to replace them within two or three years.

The enterprise is planning to hire the department directors within the month, she said, so that they will have a say on who should be hired for other positions within their department. One reason this is being done this way, she said, is so that employees have loyalty to their supervisors and not to the human resources staff.

The new date for the opening of the casino is Nov. 14 and the enterprise is hoping to have everyone on board by early September so they can do several weeks of on-site training. Some positions, however, may require more training.

Martin said the enterprise will set up a facility that will be used only for training people for the casino-type positions.

"This will probably be located in the Gallup or Fort Defiance area," she said.

The training facility will also work with tribal members who don't have a high school diploma and help them get a GED so they would qualify for a casino position.

The enterprise is expecting that even with the higher than average pay scale, there will be some replacements needed at the Church Rock facility and personnel needed to fill positions at the other four or five casinos the tribe is planning to open in the next few years.

The good thing about getting in on the ground floor, so to speak, is that advancement will come quickly for those who start out, for example, in lower level positions and then advance to higher-paid supervisory positions.

The casino is looking for people in almost every type of background.

For example, the casino will be hiring a lot of people with accounting backgrounds to fill positions ranging from gift shop clerk to cage cashier (who exchanges cash for chips or vice versa) to count team member (who counts and verifies all tickets and currency taken from slot machines).

The casino will also be hiring security guards, shuttle drivers, maintenance workers and bingo runners (who sell bingo cards) and bingo callers.

As for restaurant staff, Martin said the casino will have a fine dining restaurant with professional staff. Other casino facilities will offer traditional Navajo foods like mutton stew and fry bread.

There will also be a bar in the fine dining restaurant, which will serve only those eating in the restaurant, she said, adding that state laws do not allow alcoholic beverages to be taken onto the casino floor.

The casino is looking to hire a lot of card dealers as well, including dealers for blackjack and Texas Hold 'Em.

Everyone who is considered for hiring, she said, will have a comprehensive background check done by the tribe's regulatory office.

She said enterprise officials have been working with Church Rock Chapter and the Navajo Nation officials to make sure that the casino does not damage the safety of the community or create social problems.

For that reason, casino staff will be trained to lookout for signs of excessive gambling.

"We want to encourage responsible gaming," she said.

So the casino will not be cashing payroll or welfare checks.