Foxwoods Resort Casino Cocktail Waitresses Fight High Heels Rule

The cocktail waitresses employed at the Foxwoods Resort Casino – a hotel-casino in Ledyard, Connecticut on the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation – have been subjected to a strict high-heel rule stating they are required to wear shoes that must have a minimum of a two-inch heel as part of their dress code.

However, as sexy as they can make you look, and as profitable as they can be tip-wise, high heels are murder on your feet, especially after being on them all day serving drinks. In time, they can literally hobble you.

Prolonged wear of high heels can cause injury and inflammation, as was the case for Cheryl Haase. The 52-year-old cocktail waitress has suffered multiple foot ailments in her two decades of experience, and has had to seek treatment from chiropractors and podiatrists.

Now a union representing the Foxwoods cocktail waitresses, including Haase, is fighting for the right for comfortable shoes, especially for the older employees. Many of the seasoned workers feel the proposed requirement forcing them to don kitten-heels is an underhanded effort to push them out of the way and make room for younger waitresses.

This is one of several 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.

The casino has since yielded slightly on the imposed heels requirement, but is insisting that servers wear polished black shoes, subject to approval by management. Servers can be exempted with a doctor’s note for up to a year, but would then have to resign or take another position.

Managing to walk in high heels is an accomplishment of will as initially you unsteadily stagger about like a newborn giraffe, struggling clumsily to acquire your footing and balance. They force the wearer to stand in an enhanced posture, accentuating the bust and figure, hence the appeal.

According to the American Osteopathic Association, your killer heels are killing much more than you think. One in 10 women wear high heels at least three days a week and a third on average fall while wearing them.

Statistics show that high heels are one of the biggest factors leading to foot problems in women, with up to a third suffering permanent problems as a result of excessive wear: unnaturally bending toes, damaged leg tendons, injured leg muscles, osteoarthritis of the knee, painful spurs, chronic plantar fasciitis, and lower back pain. There is also an increased risk of serious injuries such as twisted or broken ankles.

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