Red Hawk Casino opened a temporary employment center Monday as it amasses 1,750 employees to become the largest private employer in El Dorado County upon its opening in late 2008.
Like a vitamin B-12 shot, the jobs created by the Placerville casino could help energize a struggling economy. The casino, owned by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, is hiring for administrative, engineering, maintenance, and food and beverage services, as well as human resources, gambling, information technology, marketing, security, finance and support services.
Monday morning, roughly half the parking lot was occupied at the temporary employment and training center at 1117 Windfield Way in El Dorado Hills. Job seekers came and went in cars ranging from Honda Civics to a 325i BMWc. Inside, they were given information and signed their names on clipboards, noting which type of job interested them.
Bill Young was motivated by an unexpected decrease in his hours after four years of full-time work in the surveillance business. His weekly hours will be cut from 40 to 16 hours. He will move from days to nights and is looking for another job to supplement his income.
"Two-thirds of my check is gone," Young said. "Right now we're surviving. If it goes more than three or four weeks, yes, I will feel a pinch."
Others like Steven Lor were motivated by the need to relocate. Lor works as a table game dealer in a Fresno-area casino.
Despite their interest in different fields of work, Young, Lor and the many others like them at the employment center were subjected to the same criteria for applying.
At the employment center, applicants were shown how to access the application online: visit www.redhawkcasino.com, click on the employment icon at the top of the screen, search for the job of their liking, register as a user, then complete a profile and the online application.
Printed résumés and applications are not accepted at the job center, but applicants can upload an electronic version of their résumé to the Web site.
No matter what the motivation to apply or how fast they applied, none of the job seekers Monday knew on the spot whether they would be hired.
The 270,000-square-foot Red Hawk Casino sits on a 160-acre rancheria just north of Highway 50 in Placerville.
"I guess if I look interesting enough or spark some interest, they will call me in for an interview and we take it from there," Young said.
The salaries of potential employees are also still uncertain.
For about the past year, Red Hawk Casino's lawyers have been discussing a possible organizing agreement with UNITE HERE, a union that represents more than 90,000 employees of the U.S. gambling industry.
It has four organized employee unions at Indian casinos in California.
Jack Gribbon, California political director for UNITE HERE, said employee salaries in the state differ widely.
Employees will receive benefits that include paid time off and health, dental and life insurance.
Red Hawk Casino's temporary employment and training center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Anyone with employment questions can call (530) 677-7000.
