Detroit – Some 2,800 workers at the MotorCity Casino and Hollywood Casino in Greektown have voted to ratify a new contract, ending a 34-day strike at the two properties, while workers at the MGM Grand Casino rejected the proposal and remain on strike.
The workers are members of the Detroit Casino Council, a union representing 3,700 workers at Detroit’s three casinos. Members at each casino voted separately on the offer. Those who voted to ratify the five-year contract will receive an immediate raise of $3 an hour and a total raise of $5 an hour over the life of the contract, according to the union.
The ratified contract also includes workload reductions, technology protections, a 401(k) employer match program and no health care cost increases.
Members of the Detroit Casino Council walked off the job on 17 October after negotiations for a new contract broke down. The strike followed increased workloads during the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation, the council said in a news release. The workers, who include dealers, cleaners, food and beverage staff, valets and engineers, are seeking pay increases, job and health care protections and reduced workloads.
The immediate increase, which represents an average of 18% for workers, is “the largest wage increase ever negotiated in the history of the Detroit casino industry,” according to a council release.
The contract, ratified by union members at Greektown and MGM casinos, also includes technology protections that guarantee workers will receive advance notice when new technology affecting their jobs is introduced. The new contract also requires training for new jobs created by technology, as well as health care and severance pay for workers laid off as a result of new technology.
The Detroit Casino Council is made up of five unions: the UAW, Unite Here Local 24, Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324 and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters.
The council announced that a tentative agreement had been reached on Friday.
John Drake, vice president and general manager of Hollywood Casino at Greektown, said the casinos “appreciate the productive and respectful negotiations with the DCC and look forward to welcoming our team members back as soon as possible.