Detroit casino union reaches tentative deal to end strike
Casino employees in Detroit should be back at work soon.
The union representing workers announced a deal Friday with three casino operators that would end a month-long strike in the Motor City.
United, Local 24, one of the unions involved in the negotiations, announced the deal on social media, calling it "the best deal in the history of the Detroit casino industry."
On October 17, approximately 3,700 unionized casino employees resigned as they sought better wages, benefits and working conditions. The deal announced Friday must be approved by those workers before it can take effect.
The strike resulted in reduced service and revenue at the city's three affected casinos: MGM Grand Detroit, Motor City Casino Hotel and Greektown Hollywood Casino.
NEW 5 YEAR CONTRACT
The tentative agreement sets out the terms of a new five-year contract between the union and the casino operator.
These workers are represented by the Detroit Casino Commission, which includes UNITE HERE Local 24, UAW Local 7777, Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324 and the Michigan Area Carpenters Council. The union represents casino dealers, cleaning staff, restaurant workers and other employees.
The strike comes after workers said they were not adequately compensated for the significant concessions they agreed to in previous contracts to help the casinos survive the pandemic-related economic downturn. Now that the situation has improved, workers say they deserve a fair share of the company's profits.
“This historic agreement rewards casino employees for their sacrifices during the pandemic,” Milledge McCaster, a 14-year engineer at Greektown Hollywood and a member of Operations Engineers Local 324, said in a statement expressed in. “We’re setting new standards, dramatically increasing wages and groundbreaking achievements like the first workplace technology language and other workplace protections that give workers a say in the future of work in this industry.”
"Biggest wage increase ever"
Under the new contract, workers will see an immediate 18% increase in average wages, part of what the Council described as "the largest wage increase negotiated in the 23-year history of Detroit's casino industry." . According to the union, the agreement also includes "no increase in employee health care costs, reduced workload and other workplace protections, first-time technical contract provisions, increased pensions, etc."
The union did not provide any further details on Friday.
The resolution to the casino strike comes weeks after members of the United Auto Workers union agreed to end a strike in the auto industry and members of the Hollywood Writers and Screen Actors Guild won concessions from major studios following the strike. A week ago, Las Vegas unions reached a deal to avert a strike by local workers.
The strike significantly reduced revenue for Detroit casinos. The MGM Grand in Detroit took in $37.3 million last month, down 16.5% from October 2022. Motor City Casino Hotel took in $25 million, down 19.2%, and Greektown Hollywood Casino took in $19.4 million, down 20.2%.
Read also:
- Football 101: What is relegation in football?
- New Mexican reforms aim to ban slot machines
- PGA Tour and Strategic Sports Group confirm player ownership offer
- Colombian gambling regulator controls gambling advertising and sponsorship
Source: www.casino.org
