The anti-Bally’s contingent in Chicago had a field day over the possible strike by Local 26 of Unite Here against the company’s Twin Rivers Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
The hospitality workers’ union refrained from picketing over the busy July 4 weekend because of progress in negotiations. The tentative date is expected to be on or around July 14.
Bally’s won its bid to develop a $1.7 billion gambling and entertainment complex in Chicago in large part because of the strong support of organized labor and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The company, which will build the complex at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street, also has the right to open a temporary casino in 2023.
“The mayor and [Chicago Federation of Labor President] Bob Reiter insisted that Bally’s was the only union supporter of the three Chicago casino finalists. Doesn’t look that way in R.I.,” Alderman Brian Hopkins wrote in a text message to the Chicago Sun-Times. He led the charge against Bally’s plan for a River West casino in his ward.
Hopkins said the strike vote in Rhode Island “doesn’t add up,” and that it “ indicates a significant dissatisfaction with Bally’s management. They did sign a labor agreement. We’ll see if they honor it.”
Another Bally’s opponent, Alderman Brendan Reilly, said the vote in Rhode Island serves as a cautionary tale for Chicago.
“Bally’s made some pretty big promises to organized labor in Chicago in order to win their casino bid here. Now, at their `flagship’ in Rhode Island, 92 percent of the Unite Here union just voted to authorize a strike,” Reilly wrote via text message. “That’s a pretty overwhelming vote.”
Reiter had a much different reaction.
“Bally’s is a union employer, and they signed a labor peace agreement with us,” Reiter said.
In April, Reiter told the casino committee that it should not back a license to an operator before it commits to having a unionized workforce. The CFL applied pressure on City Council members to approve a license for Bally’s over Hard Rock International and Rush Street Gaming.
Bally’s Chairman Soohyung Kim said one market is not indicative of others.
“Obviously, we feel confident about our relationship with all the unions. I believe this will be settled amicably in Rhode Island,” he said.
Kim also noted that Bally’s had no labor problems at a casino it owns in Atlantic City, even though a Unite Here local there had threatened a strike against MGM Resort Properties and Caesars Entertainment. Tentative agreements ended that threat.
