Picketing casino workers talk important issues on first day of strike
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Picket lines formed outside of MGM Grand Detroit, Hollywood at Greektown and MotorCity Casino on Tuesday as 3,700 workers went on strike. It comes after the three gaming houses were unable to reach new contracts before old deals expired with the Detroit Casino Council — the group of five unions handling negotiations.
The last round of casino bargaining took place in 2020, as the in-person gambling business was dealing with COVID-19 related shutdowns and limitations. Union officials say they made concessions at the time to keep the industry afloat.
On the picket lines as the strike began, members said they want to be compensated for what they gave up in the last round of negotiations and to address lingering workplace issues.
Listen: Casino workers form picket lines as strike begins.
Demands for higher pay
Union officials say they accepted modest raises of 3% to protect healthcare during the 2020 round of bargaining — essentially extending its prior five-year-contract by three years. As a result, they say it’s been almost a decade since casino workers have seen meaningful pay increases.
Ulyssis Bryant is a barback and bartender at MotorCity Casino Hotel. He says he wants to see cost of living adjustments in a new contract.
“I’ve caught COVID three times,” said Bryant. “So, during the pandemic going out, not getting paid for those days — five-to-10 days at a time. Then having to come back to work…and having to work out of the hole. It’s a lot.”
“They offer a $1.20 raise and then they offset it by making you pay 70-80 cents back into your healthcare.” — Terri Sykes, UAW Local 7777 president
Terri Sykes deals cards at MotorCity Casino and is president of United Auto Workers Local 7777, which is represented by the Detroit Casino Council. She says while the union is happy with its current healthcare arrangement, they want to see pay increases that adjust for inflation.
Sykes says bargaining offers from Detroit’s casinos that have included pay increases have come with a catch.
“Hypothetically speaking, they offer a $1.20 raise and then they offset it by making you pay 70-80 cents back into your healthcare,” she said. “So where is the raise at? You getting a 30 cent raise? 40 cent raise?”
Staffing issues
In 2020, gambling houses furloughed workers while dealing with COVID-related shutdowns. MotorCity Casino slot machine attendant Tyjuanese Lyte says the workforce has been understaffed ever since.
“Our areas became larger so it’s a larger workload,” Lyte said. “Our schedules became more hectic, so it’s like we’re scattered all over the place.”
Terri Sykes says a new contract with the city’s gambling institutions will have to address that problem.
“It’s a lot of people that’s winding up doing multiple jobs that’s not in their job classification,” Sykes said. “We even had an engineer down in food and beverage plating food. Why do they have engineers plating food?”
Detroit’s casinos have more than recovered financially from the pandemic. The combined $2.27 billion in gaming revenue last year was over $800 million more than what was made in 2019.
On picket lines during the first day of the strike, workers say they believe staffing problems are a result of the job not being attractive enough and casinos not trying hard enough to make new hires.
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