Saratoga, Belmont backstretch workers to negotiate first labor contracts
SARATOGA SPRINGS - With hundreds of potential members signed up, the union representing backstretch workers for the Saratoga and Belmont horse racing tracks are about to start bargaining for what will be their long-sought first labor contracts.
"It takes time but it's working," said Gilberto Mendoza, organizer for the Westchester County-based IBEW Local 1430, which for more than a year has been organizing backstretch workers such as groomers and walkers at Saratoga and Belmont.
"Seven trainers have gotten certification," said Richard Ziskin, lawyer for the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, a trade group of horse trainers. Zisken also represents a number of trainers. "Now's there's an obligation to bargain," Ziskin added, explaining he believes that contract bargaining talks could start as early as November.
So far, union representation for at least nine trainers has been certified, or recognized by the state Public Employment Relations Board, which oversees union relations with horse trainers. Dozens of trainers - independent businesses that prepare the horses to compete - work at Saratoga and Belmont during the racing seasons.
Union representation at several more trainers will likely be certified, or approved during a Nov. 7 meeting of the state Public Employment Relations Board.
Usually relations between unions and private employers are governed by the National Labor Board. But PERB oversees union and affairs for horse racing trainers, as well as dog racing trainers and for farms as well as government agencies.
So far, Mendoza said, about 400 people from two dozen trainers, including well-known ones like Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown, have signed on to join IBEW.
Ziskin said the trainers he represents haven't yet been presented with contract proposals and there's no timeline for finalizing contracts.
Mendoza said negotiations will likely center on pay, days off and other working conditions.
Meanwhile, backstretch workers who groom, exercise and generally care for horses being run by trainers have long been acknowledged as unsung heroes at Saratoga and Belmont.
Many are from Mexico and Central America, and they typically work long hours for low pay during the racing seasons while living in basic housing. Some of them are paid bonuses after a good season, but others barely get minimum wage, advocates have said.
"I really hope that they move forward," said Minita Sanghvi, Saratoga Springs' finance commissioner and one of the activists who helped convince the City Council to support the union drive. "They are in many ways the invisible cog in the machinery of the track," she said.
Sanghvi added that most other jobs at the Saratoga Race Course, such as food and beverage workers, maintenance/construction and technology roles are represented by unions.
"They all have contracts and unions so why not the backstretch workers," she said.
Gaining union recognition took several attempts. At first organizers approached the New York Racing Association, or NYRA, about unionizing, but were told that the individual horse trainers are actually the employers. NYRA is the group that organizes the races. The trainers act as distinct companies, such as Todd Pletcher Racing Stables, which train the horses entrusted to them by the horse owners.
This story was originally published October 16, 2024, 8:31 PM.
