Kate Gibson
Tue, October 17, 2023
Unite Here Local 24
Thousands of casino workers in Detroit walked off the job Tuesday, calling their first strike since the MGM Grand, MotorCity Casino Hotel and Hollywood Casino at Greektown opened their doors in the city about a quarter of a century ago.
The push for better wages by dealers, valets, housekeepers, and food and beverage workers came after negotiators for the three casinos and unions representing 3,700 workers failed to reach agreement by a noon deadline. The contract had been set to lapse 12 hours earlier, but was extended by half a day as talks continued.
Casino workers had been working under a three-year extension to a five-year contract from 2015, and in 2020 accepted small pay increases due to the pandemic's impact on business, according to the Detroit Casino Council, which represents workers from five unions. But Since 2020, Detroit casino workers have received only 3% raises, while local inflation has risen 20%, the group said.
"After we helped Detroit's gaming industry get back on its feet, business is booming, but the people who make the casinos run are still struggling," Nia Winston, president of Unite Here Local 24, one of the unions representing the striking workers, in a statement emailed by the coalition.
MGM Grand Detroit and Hollywood Casino at Greektown said they would remain open during the strike; MotorCity did not respond to a request for comment.
"We will continue to offer employees work, and to the extent employees represented by the union choose to participate in the strike, we will take whatever lawful action is necessary to fill shifts and continue to provide our customers with entertainment and service," Matt Buckley, president and chief operating officer of MGM Resorts' Midwest Group, told employees in a letter on Tuesday.
In a statement, Hollywood Casino at Greektown expressed disappointment that what it called its "generous, progressive settlement offers" had been rejected, but said it would continue talks to resolve the labor dispute "as soon as possible," according to CBS News Detroit.
Hollywood Casino's self-parking garages and self-serve beverage stations are open, along with slot machines and table games, although "certain services may be limited," the gambling venue stated on its website. Valet services and the casino's restaurants may not be available, but dining vouchers can be redeemed at nearby eateries, including Dunkin Donuts and Detroit Taco, it added.
The casino workers' strike comes amid a rash of other major strikes and labor unrest, including a walkout by 34,000 members of teh United Auto Workers at Ford, Motor, General Motors and Stellantis (which owns domestic auto brands Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram). Film and television actors also remain off the job after talks with the entertainment studios broke down last week.
Detroit casino workers go on strike as unions seek better wages, benefits
JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press
Tue, October 17, 2023
Thousands of Detroit casino workers went on strike Tuesday after negotiations between the three casinos and unions representing the workers failed to reach a new labor agreement by a noon deadline.
The strike is the first at the Detroit casinos — MGM Grand, MotorCity and Hollywood Casino at Greektown — since they opened in the late 1990s and 2000.
The Detroit Casino Council, which represents 3,700 casino workers across five unions, has been seeking better wages and benefits in negotiations with the casinos that started in early September.
The council and unions have shared few details about their specific wage requests, citing the wide variety of job types in casinos and the attached hotels, other than to say workers need big raises to keep up with inflation.
On the benefits front, the unions say casino management wants workers to pay significantly more for health care, which they are opposed to.
Jamie Johnson, 27, of Sterling Heights, center, a banquet server at MGM Grand Detroit, marches with others on the picket line on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.
"The company, in my opinion, is not coming back with anything that is even close to fair," said Johanna Lams, who works as a table games dealer at MGM Grand Detroit and is also a local UAW chairperson. “When you start talking about inflation and start talking about pay rate, you’ve got to at least be close, and we're not right now."
She added, “You’ve got people here working at MGM who don’t even make enough to have apartments. They are sleeping in their cars.”
The casino workers had been under a three-year extension to a five-year contract that was originally set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Monday, but was extended 12 hours until noon on Tuesday.
The casino council agreed in 2020 to minimal wage increases — 3% in total over three years — to help the casinos amid the COVID-19 pandemic and government-mandated shutdowns.
The unions represent most, although not all, workers in the casinos, including those on the gaming floor, serving food and drinks and working in the casinos' hotels.
All three casinos remained open Tuesday afternoon amid the strike and active picket lines.
Strikers march and protest in front of MGM Grand Detroit on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Workers at all three of Detroit’s casinos, including the Motor City Casino Hotel and the Hollywood Casino at Greektown, went on strike at noon.
“They have, from my understanding, a lot of the supervisors spread out around the casino working six days a week and 10-hour days," Lams said. “Hopefully, there will be nobody in there."
At MGM Grand, vehicles passed dozens of loud strikers on the picket line to enter the casino's parking deck in the early afternoon.
Inside, the slot machines were working and many patrons seemed oblivious to the strike.
"Are they on strike? Oh wow, glad I'm getting out now," one man said while leaving the casino and heading to the parking deck.
Another patron was well aware that a strike was underway as she walked inside at about 1 p.m.
"You see what they're doing out there? Making me feel real, real bad," the woman, with a smile on her face, said to a security guard.
MGM Grand Detroit has said it plans to stay open throughout the strike.
More: Detroit casino workers could be headed for strike if no deal reached by midnight
"We will take whatever lawful action is necessary to fill shifts and continue providing our customers with entertainment and service," an MGM Grand executive, Matt Buckley, told casino employees in a letter Tuesday morning.
While the Detroit casinos are seeing fewer visitors and less in-person revenue compared with 2019, the unions have pointed to new revenue streams that opened with the January 2021 start of legal online gaming and sports gaming in Michigan. The unions also claim the casinos are collectively operating with 1,500 fewer workers now than before the pandemic.
Chanett Watson, foreground, chants "If we don't get it, shut it down" with Terri Smith, left, and Demetra Montague, right, while on strike with coworkers outside of the Greektown Casino in downtown Detroit on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.
The Detroit Casino Council is composed of five unions: UNITE HERE Local 24, UAW, Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324 and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters.
Casino workers in the UAW will receive $500 per week in strike pay, an official said, although strike pay amounts for the other four unions may vary.
Negotiations between the council and the casinos continued right up to the noon deadline for the strike, according to Meghan Cohorst, a spokesperson for UNITE HERE.
"I think workers are ready to strike as long as it takes to get a deal," she said.
The unions are encouraging the public to not visit the casinos during the strike.
"There are workers on strike, they should honor the picket line," Cohorst said. "Don’t play, don’t stay, don’t cross the line. Support the workers who help make them run.”
Workers go on strike outside of the Hollywood Casino at Greektown in downtown Detroit on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.
An executive with PENN Entertainment, the owner of Hollywood Casino at Greektown, said they were disappointed by the casino council's decision to strike.
"We have made generous, progressive settlement offers that position our team members and business for sustainable success," Jeff Morris, vice president for public affairs, said in a statement. "We will remain open for business to serve our customers and are committed to continued good-faith bargaining with the Detroit Casino Council to resolve the issues at hand as soon as possible.”
The casino workers' strike comes at a time when about 34,000 UAW members are on strike in Michigan and other states, as well as another 1,000-plus UAW members employed with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press
Detroit casino workers go on strike after failed talks
MGM Resorts shuts down some computer systems after a cyber attack
By Doyinsola Oladipo
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Thousands of hospitality workers in Detroit walked off the job on Tuesday after unions called for strikes at casinos MGM Grand Detroit operated by MGM Resorts International ; Hollywood Casino at Greektown operated by Penn Entertainment; and MotorCity Casino.
The Detroit Casino Council (DCC) called the first strike in its history after negotiations which began in the summer did not yield a new contract. The workers are seeking better wages to keep up with inflation, workload reduction as well as improved healthcare and retirement benefits.
"They are not budging on a fair wage," said Gwen Mills, Secretary-Treasurer of Unite Here, one of the unions involved in negotiations. "We took almost flat wages through the pandemic and now expect to share in the prosperity that they're experiencing."
On Sept. 29, 99% of voting workers from all unionized groups at the three Detroit casinos voted to authorize the DCC to call a strike if negotiations weren't progressing.
The DCC negotiating committee is made up of five unions including Unite Here Local 24, United Auto Workers (UAW), Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters representing 3,700 casino employees.
The committee estimates the strike would risk a total of $3.4 million in operator revenue per day, with the greatest impact on MGM Grand Detroit at $1.7 million per day.
MGM, in a statement, said it will continue to operate during the strike. "We've made six proposals to the union and our current offer includes the single largest pay increase in the history of MGM Grand Detroit," the company said.
Penn Entertainment and MotorCity did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
When casinos struggled during the pandemic, the DCC in 2020 agreed to a three-year contract extension with 3% annual raises but inflation in Detroit has risen 20% since then, according to a DCC statement issued on Monday.
Industry gaming revenues have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with the Detroit casino industry generating $2.27 billion in 2022, according to the DCC negotiating committee.
MGM shares rose fractionally on Tuesday. Penn Entertainment shares were up 3.4%.
for a new contract as unions across a range of industries in the United States bargain for better working conditions. In Las Vegas, the unions represent about 40,000 workers employed at casinos including those operated by MGM, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; additional reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bangalore; Editing by David Gregorio)
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