Union workers go on strike at all three Detroit casinos

(CBS DETROIT) – Union workers at Detroit’s three casinos failed to get a deal done before a deadline at noon on Tuesday. 

Union members walked off the job and walked the picket lines at noon. 

“It’s time for us to make our money, keep our insurance the same. 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,” said Susan Gallagher, a bartender at Hollywood Casino at Greektown. 

Gallagher was one of several hundred union members who walked off the job at one of three Detroit casinos Tuesday. 

Union members have said their issues with the casinos are pay, health care and quality of life. 

Gallagher said the casinos aren’t holding up their end of the bargain. 

“When the casinos came to town 24-25 years ago, they promised jobs … good jobs, plentiful jobs. Well, it’s not that way anymore,” Gallagher said. 

Milledge McCaster, an engineer at Hollywood Casino at Greektown, said the union wants better pay and to maintain their current health care. He said union members made sacrifices to keep the casinos afloat during the pandemic, and they are owed a fair wage and decent health care. 

“These are good people that sacrificed a lot through the pandemic. We’re just looking for a fair contract,” McCaster said. 

A spokesperson for the Hollywood Casino at Greektown issued the following statement Tuesday. 

“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. We will remain open for business to serve our customers and are committed to continued good-faith bargaining with the Detroit Casino Council to resolve the issues at hand as soon as possible.”

McCaster said the casinos may be negotiating in good faith, but they have yet to offer a good enough contract to get a deal done. 

“We would love to be inside if the company came with a good deal that all three members at all three casinos can get behind,” he said. 

According to the Detroit Casino Council, every day of a strike costs the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan roughly $700,000 in tax revenues, and casinos lose a combined revenue of nearly $3.5 million.