Hundreds of Striking Casino Workers Head to City Hall for Support
MEDIA ADVISORY for October 24, 2023 at 10:00am
Contact: Annemarie Strassel at 312-617-0495
Hundreds of Striking Casino Workers Head to City Hall for Support
After launching a citywide casino strike less than one week ago, casino workers call on city leaders to hold Detroit casinos to their promise of creating good jobs.
WHAT: Striking casino workers giving public testimony to members of Detroit’s City Council and calling for a statement of support for the strike.
WHEN: Tuesday, October 24 – 10:00am.
WHO: Hundreds of striking Detroit casino workers—dealers, cleaning staff, food and beverage workers, valets, engineers and more—who are members of the five unions that comprise the Detroit Casino Council (DCC): UNITE HERE Local 24, United Auto Workers Local 7777, Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters.
WHERE: City Council Chambers (Coleman A. Young Municipal Center), 2 Woodward Ave #1340, Detroit, MI 48226 and overflow action in front of Spirt of Detroit monument
VISUALS: Hundreds of striking workers holding strike signs
INTERVIEWS: Members of the DCC worker negotiating committee and union officials are available for interviews. Please contact to coordinate.
WHY: When Detroit’s casinos were first approved in 1998, the casino owners signed agreements with the City of Detroit to ensure good jobs in Detroit’s casino industry. Now casino workers are on strike to protect their healthcare and win decent raises, fair workloads, and more job security. This week, they are appealing to city leaders to issue a statement of support for their efforts to hold casino owners to their promise to Detroit.
On Tuesday, Oct. 17, unionized casino workers at MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino and Hollywood Casino at Greektown launched a wall-to-wall strike affecting 3700 casino workers across a broad range of classifications such as dealers, cleaning staff, food and beverage workers, valets, engineers and more. This is the first casino strike in Detroit history.
Detroit’s casino workers sacrificed raises and shouldered heavier workloads so the industry could recover from the pandemic. In September 2020, workers agreed to a three-year contract extension with minimal wage increases to help the industry get back on its feet. Since then, Detroit casino workers have received only 3% raises, but inflation in Detroit has risen 20%. In contrast, industry gaming revenues have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels to reach a new record high. In 2022, the Detroit casino industry generated $2.27 billion in gaming revenue and is on track for another record-breaking year in 2023.
###
The Detroit Casino Council (DCC) is UNITE HERE Local 24, the UAW, Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters. These five unions represent most of the workers at the three casinos in Detroit: Hollywood Casino at Greektown, MGM Grand Detroit, and MotorCity Casino. Our members work in food and beverage, housekeeping, retail outlets, slots and table games, engineering and more. The DCC partner unions are part of International Unions that have experience representing gaming workers and winning great contracts throughout the United States, including in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.