In our spotlight on Business Report tonight, casino worker unions are butting heads again over the fight to ban smoking on Atlantic City casino floors.

One group known as police filed an appeal this week.

A judge this summer dismissed their lawsuit asking for an all out ban, putting them at odds with another union representing Atlantic City employees that wants to see the right to light up Stay.

Senior correspondent Joanna Guy has the latest details on their battle.

We're fighting for our rights to breathe clean air.

That fight for a smoke free work environment for casino workers in Atlantic City is now moving to the appellate court.

Unions representing those workers filed a brief on Monday, appealing a recent lower court dismissal of their case after the judge sided with the casinos and state's argument.

That casinos will collapse if they can have smoking.

And thousands of workers will lose their jobs.

That's just absolutely false.

It's based on a report that the casinos paid for from one of its regular consultants that they all hire all the time called Spectrum.

And it's been debunked totally by an independent report and by the surgeon general of the United States.

That independent report, the plaintiff's attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, references was written by C3 Gaming and is the basis of her appeal, challenging the notion that smoking in casinos is an economic issue.

We know that nonsmoking casinos are profitable because all around the country, in 21 states, casinos are thriving in smoke free environments.

The Spectrum report that the casino likes to cite was paid for by them, and it uses data from 2008, which was the economic depression and data from 2012 and 2013.

The C3 Gaming report uses data from after coding data in current times, saying that it's a different world in 2008.

The case was first brought as a challenge to casinos being granted a carve out in the New Jersey Smokefree Air Act, saying it violates employees rights to a safe workplace.

A dealer last year, 54 years old, passed away.

He died from lung cancer.

Never smoked a day in his life.

We have many members that were sick.

Asthma, emphysema, COPD, many other issues all related to the smoking.

The case really has shifted from what I believe was first an argument for the rights of the workers.

And a judge argued that they are not guaranteed a safe workplace.

Now it's about data.

How has this case had to pivot to keep going?

Honestly, when I started this case, I never in a million years thought the governor and the health commissioner would answer our case with the claim that casino profits are more important than worker health.

I was shocked.

And the casinos came in and then the the unions who are co-opted.

I can prove that I have the documents to prove it from the tobacco industry.

They came in with data.

So I have to answer the data.

They came in with misinformation.

All three of them put in the Spectrum report.

The union Smith references is called Unite Here Local 54.

They argue that smoking bans will crush the economy, driving people to casinos that allow smoking.

We reached out to unite here for comment but haven't heard back.

But their president, Donald DiCaprio, told the Associated Press, We're protecting our members against multiple casino closures and job losses, adding that the union's asking for the ban are eager to sacrifice the entire casino industry and put 25,000 good jobs with benefits at risk.

But data aside, Smith says, the casinos themselves are proving her case.

Five of the nine new Jersey casinos are seeking licenses in New York, which is smoke free.

So they obviously know smoke free is profitable.

We have casino CEOs coming to us and say it was the best thing they've ever done was go nonsmoking.

It saves in health costs.

People come to work more often.

People want to work for their company.

It's a win win.

Meanwhile, these union members are watching a bill languish in the legislature that could get a ban passed.

Our own Democratic Party is working against us.

If you don't get on the right side of this issue, we will be supporting Republicans come 2025.

A strong warning from fed up workers.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Joanna Gaddis.