Detroit City Council Supports Casino Employees on Strike
Detroit city council members are publicly expressing their support for the 3,700 striking workers at the city's three casinos. On Tuesday, the council unanimously passed a resolution that declares they "stand in solidarity with the striking Detroit casino workers" and endorsed their demands for better salaries and working conditions.
The resolution reaffirms the council's commitment to supporting workers from all sectors and emphasizes their rights to respect, suitable workplace protections, and a living wage.
Union employees at the MGM Grand, MotorCity Casino Hotel, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown began their strike on October 17 after they were unable to reach a contract agreement with casino owners. Despite the labor dispute, the casinos have remained open, but have limited their services. Workers involved in the strike include cleaners, engineers, food and drink servers, table game dealers, and valets.
The ongoing casino strike is part of a wider trend of increased bargaining power for labor unions, including recent strikes by Hollywood actors and autoworkers across the United States. Las Vegas unionized hotel and restaurant workers are also considering a strike, and plan to increase their public activism this week.
Massive Crowd at Council Meeting
At least 700 striking workers attended Tuesday's council meeting in Detroit to show their support for the resolution. The Detroit Casino Council, comprised of the United Auto Workers, Teamsters Local 1038, UNITE HERE Local 24, Operating Engineers Local 324, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, represents the striking workers.
Workers claim they accepted concessions in the three-year contract they signed with casinos in 2020 to help them recover from the pandemic-related economic crisis. However, workers have only received a 3% pay raise since then, while prices in Detroit have risen at a faster rate than that. Moreover, the casinos have set new revenue records during this period.
Unions argue that casino owners haven't provided adequate health care, job security, and retirement benefits, while cutting employment levels, leaving remaining employees with more work to handle.
"For them to be making the billion dollars they are making, how dare we not pay the workers what they have earned?" asked Councilman Coleman A. Young II during the meeting. "What they sacrificed and broke bones for, sacrificed time with their kids for," to a cheering audience, according to the Detroit News. "If you need any time to get involved and say solidarity forever, this is it."
Potential Financial Loss for the City
The stalemate between casinos and their workers could impact the city's finances, both in terms of tax revenues generated by the casinos and the income taxes that striking workers would normally pay.
In-person gambling in Detroit is forecasted to raise $158.5 million for the city during the current fiscal year, while online gambling is predicted to generate $89.8 million.
"The City of Detroit is prepared to handle temporary disruptions in revenue since the Mayor and City Council have created a financial plan grounded in resilience over the years," the city's CFO's office said, as per the Detroit News. "We are hopeful that a fair contract agreement between the casinos and the casino workers' unions can be reached soon."
Read also:
- The CDU is pushing for additional medical study positions in Homburg.
- German enthusiast creates gigantic Harry Potter figure
- Vibrant, noisy, and piercing - Hamburg rejoices in the Schlagermove.
- New leader dismisses previous Schalke team.
Source: www.casino.org
