More than 2,000 unionized employees at eight casinos in Ontario have voted to strike if a new agreement can’t be reached by Friday.
According to Unifor, workers at eight casinos run by the Great Canadian Gaming Corp. will strike if a deal isn’t reached by midnight.
Among the issues are wages, benefits, pensions for staff working at table games, slots, security, cashiering, food and beverage, kitchen and culinary, guest services, housekeeping, and maintenance. Unifor says it is also seeking to increase the share of “good, stable” jobs by converting part-time or “casual” positions into full-time jobs.
Local 1090 represents 1,500 gaming workers at
- Great Blue Heron Casino in Port Perry
- Casino Woodbine in Etobicoke
- Pickering Casino Resort
- Casino Ajax
- Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands in Gananoque
- Shorelines Casino Peterborough
Local 252 represents 30 security workers at Elements Casino Mohawk in Milton.
Local 504 represents 300 workers at Elements Casino Brantford plus 275 workers at Elements Casino Mohawk (slots) and Elements Casino Flamboro in Dundas with collective agreements that expire in fall 2022 and spring 2023, respectively.
“Casino employers have bounced back following the pandemic-related closures,” stated Lana Payne, Unifor national secretary-treasurer on Monday. “Our goal at the bargaining table is to share some of those gains with the workers who make casinos successful.”
Corey Dalton, president of Local 1090, said the workers value their customers and relationships built with guests over the years.
“Good wages and benefits translates directly into job satisfaction and that’s good for business,” he said.
Great Canadian Gaming was acquired by Apollo Global Management in September 2021. Global News has reached out to Great Canadian Gaming for comment.
UPDATE Thursday, July 21:
Great Canadian Gaming issued this statement to Global News:
“Great Canadian Gaming continues to negotiate with members of Unifor and is committed to reaching an agreement that provides our team members with fair and attractive wages, benefits and careers. However, in the event of a strike at our six locations in Ontario that are currently in negotiations, we are prepared with contingency plans to minimize disruption and continue operations for our guests.”
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