Bankruptcy judge weighs Trump Entertainment request to eliminate union pension obligations

A Delaware bankruptcy judge is weighing a request by Trump Entertainment Resorts to be relieved of its pension obligations under a collective bargaining agreement with workers at the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

After hearing arguments Thursday, the judge said he'll issue a ruling in a Friday teleconference with attorneys.

Trump Entertainment attorneys told the judge the pension obligation poses a serious and immediate threat to its efforts to reorganize and avoid having to close the casino and lay off some 3,000 workers.

Attorneys for the union and its national retirement fund argued that there was no reason to consider the pension issue separately from the company's broader request to terminate the labor agreement in its entirety, which is the subject of a scheduled Oct. 14 hearing.