A new poll from the Rhode Island AFL-CIO shows broad public support for banning smoking at Bally’s casinos in Twin River and Lincoln. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
Casino workers and progressive lawmakers aren’t the only groups looking to clear the air inside the state’s casinos.
A majority of Republican and non-union residents also want to ban smoking at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton Casino and Hotel, according to a new poll released by the Rhode Island AFL-CIO Monday. The survey, conducted by Fleming and Associates, reflects results of 400 state registered voters interviewed by phone from Feb. 1 to Feb. 4. There is a 4.9% margin of error.
For years, ending the loophole that exempts the state’s two casinos from an indoor smoking ban has been a priority of the 80,000-member union federation, along with public health advocates and progressive lawmakers. But Bally’s has resisted reform, including rejecting a proposal from an activist group of its own shareholders for a study on the merits of going smoke-free at a May 2024 shareholder meeting. Activists say proposal could be revisited at the company’s 2025 annual meeting, a date for which has not been scheduled.
Patti Doyle, a Bally’s spokesperson, acknowledged but not immediately provide a response to questions Monday.
The poll also shows strong public support for increasing the state’s minimum wage, banning assault-style weapons, and, to a lesser degree, bringing in more offshore wind.
Pat Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, is betting that public support for a smoking ban might make a difference — if not with Bally’s, then at least with the Rhode Island General Assembly, despite historic opposition from Senate President Dominick Ruggerio.
“We’re optimistic that we can make the case,” Crowley said in an interview Monday. “Especially given the Senate president’s leadership style: He understands that when there are issues he may personally disagree with, but are popular, sometimes those issues deserve a vote.”
Companion bills were introduced in the Senate and House by South Kingstown Democrats V. Susan Sosnowski and Teresa Tanzi earlier this month. Legislative hearings have not been scheduled as of Monday.
Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat, remained noncommittal, awaiting committee hearings, Greg Pare, a Senate spokesperson, said in an email Monday.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, in an email pointed to his co-sponsorship of the House legislation — the first time he’s signed on as a sponsor — as evidence of his support.
Nearly seven in 10 survey respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” supported a smoking ban at the pair of casinos, compared with 26% who opposed it, according to the poll. Support was even higher among registered Democrats — 78% — but nearly 57% of Republicans also backed the smoking ban.
And non-union members weren’t any less likely to see the merits of a smoking ban, with 70% of non-union survey takers expressing support, compared with 60% of union workers.
Most surprising, to Crowley, was the support among casino visitors. More than six in 10 respondents who had visited one of the state’s casinos in the last two years wanted to ban smoking.
“I was betting it would be 50-50 with regular attendees supporting the status quo,” Crowley said. “What this shows is it’s not only good public policy for the state of Rhode Island, it’s a popular public policy even with people who attend the casinos. As a nonsmoker myself, it’s almost unbearable to be there when people are smoking.”
Public still supports unions
Highlighting popular policies — and the popularity of unions — was the intent behind the public release of the AFL-CIO poll. The union federation has conducted an annual poll for two decades, but only shared the findings publicly this year.
“Given the return of a very adversarial administration towards unions in Washington, we thought we needed to shift the paradigm a little bit,” Crowley explained.
Over half, 56%, of respondents expressed a “very” or “somewhat” favorable opinion of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO — 26% more than those who viewed it unfavorably, and also higher than the nationwide sentiment for the national union federation, Crowley said.
More than eight in 10 respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that unions “are necessary to protect the working person,” while just one in five thought unions “once served a purpose but are no longer needed to help workers.”
On the topic of union influence, respondents were equally divided on whether unions in Rhode Island have too much power.
Here’s what the poll found on other policy priorities for the union:
- Minimum wage raise: The strongest show of support — seven in 10 survey takers — was for incrementally raising the minimum wage (currently $15 an hour) by $1 per year for the next five years, to reach $20 an hour by 2030. Legislation defining the same proposal has been introduced in both chambers, and named a priority of progressive lawmakers under their 2025 “Working Families Agenda.”
- Assault weapons ban: Nearly two-thirds of respondents support a state ban on making and selling assault-style weapons, echoing the proposal included in Gov. Dan McKee’s fiscal 2025 budget and accompanying legislation. Unsurprisingly, registered Democrats were the biggest proponents, with 87% expressing support. Just over 30% of Republicans also backed an assault weapons ban, while more than two-thirds opposed it.
- Offshore wind: Nearly six in 10 respondents support developing more offshore wind power off Rhode Island’s coastline, compared with one-third who oppose it. That’s nearly identical to results of a Rhode Island Current poll in September, with similar divides along political lines.
- Same-day voter registration: More than half of those surveyed think the state should let people register to vote on Election Day, echoing the perennial push by good government groups such as Common Cause Rhode Island. However, more than four in 10 still oppose same-day voter registration, including more than half of independent voters and two-thirds of Republicans.
- Payday lending reform: More than half of those surveyed agree that capping interest rates charged by payday lenders on short-term, low-dollar loans is an important issue, compared with four in 10 who said it was not important at all or not very important. Cracking down on payday lenders, who can charge up to 260% interest under state law, is another longstanding effort that has failed to gain traction with legislative leaders in Rhode Island, despite support from McKee last year.
The poll did not attempt to measure public sentiment on McKee’s performance, or other top state officials. However, it queried survey takers on their feelings about the direction the state is headed; nearly half said it was headed in the wrong direction, compared with one in three who felt it was headed in the right direction. Another 23% were unsure.
Roughly 35% of survey takers were registered Democrats, compared with 45% who were independent, 14% registered Republicans and 6% who refused to answer. Union members comprised 21% of the sample, while 77% identified as non-union members, with the remainder unsure.
Full results of the poll are available on the AFL-CIO website.
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