“Every bit of Atlantic City’s greatness is due to the strength and resiliency of our brothers and sisters in every sector of labor for over a century,” New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said as he participated in the ribbon-cutting and celebration on Friday, September 3, 2021. “Because of our labor movement, Atlantic City has withstood wars, storms and pandemics, and come back stronger every time.”
The museum is in the lobby of the city’s original convention center and just across the world-famous Boardwalk from the Atlantic and Cape May County Central Labor Council’s Workers Memorial statue and stone. Its artifacts and exhibits document the importance of union members who have been constructing and serving the resort that became known as the World’s Favorite Playground since the mid-1800s.
The story of solidarity and pride starts with Atlantic City’s founding and grows with the construction, operation and maintenance of buildings like Haddon Hall, which was completed in 1929 and still stands in the glittering skyline today as Resorts. And the labor movement’s latest stellar chapter includes Operation Feed Atlantic City, the largest and longest-serving union-run volunteer food distribution program in America.
The museum, a work in progress, was a labor of love by the CLC and members of every union in the casino city, according to a grateful CLC President Roy Foster, IBEW 351. Police and fire, construction trades, theatrical workers and hotel employees all pitched in. The one-of-a-kind museum is still gathering materials, such as the job descriptions for workers who staffed the Steel Pier and attractions like the diving horses and their riders, and all donations are welcome.
The Atlantic City Labor Museum is at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, 2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ 08401. Hours may vary.