MGM Grand Detroit casino workers ratify record-breaking labor agreement, ending strike
After 47 days on strike, the Detroit Casino Council has voted to ratify an agreement with MGM Grand Detroit and suspend its strike immediately.
Workers at MGM Grand Detroit, Hollywood Casino at Greektown and MotorCity Casino began their strike on Oct. 17 to protect their health care and improve wages that had not kept up with the cost of living. The settlement with MGM Grand Detroit comes just a few weeks after unionized casino workers reached an agreement with the other two casinos on Nov. 19, having spent 34 days on strike.
As part of the agreement, MGM Grand Detroit workers have won the largest wage increases ever negotiated in the history of MGM Grand Detroit, according to a news release from the Detroit Casino Council.
“I am happy to announce that MGM employees ratified their contract tonight. I am impressed by how all the unions and members worked together to win an excellent contract. I’m looking forward to going back to work,” said Patrick Nichols, a dealer at MGM Grand Detroit and member of UAW Local 7777.
“We’re glad our DCC-represented employees voted tonight to ratify the 64-month contract and end the strike, allowing us to immediately resume full and normal operations at MGM Grand Detroit,” said Matt Buckley, President and COO, Midwest Group, MGM Resorts International. “We’re excited to welcome our team back and continue providing our guests the entertainment experiences for which MGM Grand Detroit is known.”
The agreement gives 1,700 employees an immediate $3 an hour raise — an 18% pay raise on average — upon ratification, and $5 an hour total raises over the life of the five-year contract. The agreement also calls for no health care cost increases for employees, workload reductions and other job protections, first-ever technology protections, the option for a bonus upfront or within the second year of the contract, and more.
More: Detroit casino revenues took a hit from workers' strike
“Since welcoming my son into the world, securing my family’s health care benefits was the most important thing to me,” said Gabriel Robert Hernandez, a valet at MGM Grand Detroit and member of Teamsters Local 1038. “We sacrificed a lot during the pandemic, but we fought for and ultimately won a contract that secures our health care and provides significantly improved wages.”
Added Alicia Weaver, a guest room attendant for 24 years at MGM Grand Detroit and member of UNITE HERE Local 24: “Both my son and I have been on strike together, so for me the fight to protect our health care and win better wages was always about something bigger for my family and the next generation.
“Together — with the rest of our MGM family who stood with us on that picket line in the rain and frigid temperatures — we made history, and I’m proud of what we accomplished by taking a stand together.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MGM Grand Detroit workers ratify labor agreement, ending strike
