Union contract negotiations at the country's largest casino are hitting a snag over shoes cocktail waitresses are required to wear.
Some of the waitresses at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut said they see proposed new requirements as a bid to push them out and make way for younger workers.
"It's just barbaric, I believe to make women wear high heels," said Sandra Hebert, a former Foxwoods employee. "They're uncomforatable. It's very painful."
Hebert worked as a beverage server for 19 years. She said she was fired after suffering numerous problems with her feet.
"I've had multiple cortisone shots. I have had three bunion surgeries," Hebert said.
She was fired on March 5, while out on disability, according to Hebert.
The casino yielded on a recently imposed requirement for 2-inch heels, the waitresses said, but the casino is insisting that servers wear polish-able black shoes, subject to approval by management.
A Foxwoods spokeswoman, Dale Wolbrink, said she would not comment on labor negotiations that she said should be considered private.
It is among a few key issues set for arbitration between the casino and Local 371 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which represents about 365 Foxwoods workers including 200 beverage servers.
