Workers in Detroit’s three land-based casinos will walk out after 99% of members authorized strike action.
The United Auto Workers union has warned that staff members who are responsible for the majority of operations at MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino and Hollywood at Greektown have now gained the authority to hold a walk out over a dispute surrounding pay and working conditions.
Union communications claim that workers were forced to “shoulder heavier workloads” during the pandemic, while receiving minimal pay increases for the three-year contract in 2020. Now the renewal discussions are taking place, union members want to “win contract gains that would bring Detroit casino jobs back in line with the standard of good jobs” now casino revenues are surging post-pandemic.
The negotiations began in early September and casino workers are aiming for “wage increases that could make Detroit’s casino jobs family-sustaining jobs once again.”
“Workers are fed up in an economy that is broken: costs keep going up, but when profits came back to the gaming industry, they didn’t go into workers’ pockets. Just like auto workers, Blue Cross Blue Shield staff, UPS workers, writers, and hotel workers, Detroit casino workers are considering all options available to make sure one job in a Detroit casino is enough to raise a family on. We expect the casinos to heed our concerns to avoid a strike,” said Nia Winston, UNITE HERE Local 24 President.
Strikes in Michigan made national and global headlines last month after President Joe Biden became the first sitting US president to join a picket line when he supported UAW members’ strike against the big three car manufacturers.
Meanwhile, strikes could impact the casino sector in Las Vegas, after the Culinary Workers Union members voted in favor of taking strike action.
