Detroit Casinos Limit Offerings as Worker Strike Continues

Posted on: October 17, 2023, 07:38h. 

Last updated on: October 17, 2023, 07:40h.

MotorCity Casino and other gaming properties were forced to shutter various services after thousands of Detroit casino workers went on strike on Tuesday.

For now, MotorCity curtailed first-floor slots, high-limit table games, and the poker room.

In addition, the FanDuel Sportsbook at MotorCity is closed. No wagers are accepted in person or at the kiosks. There will be a cashier at a counter for sportsbook players who want to cash in tickets.

MotorCity also announced that some restaurants and bars are temporarily closed. The valet area was closed, too.

MotorCity is one of three gaming properties where a total of 3,700 Detroit casino workers, represented by the Detroit Casino Council (DCC), began a strike at noon on Tuesday.

Also, MGM Grand Detroit said its casino and hotel valet is currently closed due to the work stoppage.

A third property, Hollywood Casino at Greektown, was forced to cut some services, too. The valet is temporarily closed, and restaurant hours as well as beverage service may be limited, too.

Casinos Negotiated

Casino representatives said they have made generous proposals to the workers.

Hollywood Casino released a statement to CNBC that said, “We are disappointed by the decision of the Detroit Casino Council as we have made generous, progressive settlement offers that position our team members and business for sustainable success.”

Matt Buckley, president and COO of MGM’s Midwest Group, said in a statement also quoted by CNBC, “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.”

Employees Defend Strike

But workers defended the decision to strike.

We’re not asking for a lot. We’re asking for one job to be enough. Some of these team members need two and three jobs just to survive,” Susan Gallagher, a bartender at Hollywood Casino at Greektown, told CBS News.

Milledge McCaster, an engineer at Hollywood Casino at Greektown, added, “These are good people that sacrificed a lot through the pandemic. We’re just looking for a fair contract,” CBS News reported.

Johanna Lams, a table games dealer at MGM Grand Detroit and a local UAW chairperson, told the Detroit Free Press, “The company, in my opinion, is not coming back with anything that is even close to fair. 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.”

You’ve got people here working at MGM who don’t even make enough to have apartments,” Lams added. “They are sleeping in their cars.”

The DCC and the casinos have been attempting to iron out a new contract since September. Recently, workers overwhelmingly authorized the strike.

The DCC is made up of Unite Here Local 24, the UAW, Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters.

Michigan and other states also are seeing a strike by some 34K United Auto Workers members.

In Las Vegas, the Culinary and Bartenders Union said 95% of its workers voted to authorize a strike if contract negotiations with the casino operators fail to produce a new agreement.

Union members last week carried on an informational picket at several casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

Source: casino.org