About 6,000 members of the Detroit Casino Council—a consortium of four unions that bargain on behalf of union workers at Detroit’s Greektown Casino, MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino–recently voted to authorize a strike in advance of contract negotiations. Union spokesman Brian Rothenberg said discussions started August 24 and at least four negotiating sessions are scheduled in the next few weeks, beginning November 9. Employees will remain on the job in the meantime, working under a contract extension that was set to expire October 16. The key issue is health care costs.
Teamsters Local 372 and bargaining committee member Dave DeLong said, “I can tell you that health care has been the major stumbling block here. Our members would like to keep the current coverage that they have without any increased cost.” Casinos spokesman Marc Whitefield said, “It’s up to the unions to decide what their priorities are. People need to make a decision of how they want to spend money in these contract negotiations.”
Rothenberg said the Detroit Casino Council asked members for permission to strike three days after state and federal mediators called for both sides to take a break. On a website about the negotiations, MGM told workers, “The mediators recommended that the parties take a ‘cooling-off’ period to allow time to review all open issues, formulate positions on those issues and prepare for bargaining on the important economic issues.”
MGM officials said health care costs for the three casinos are expected to rise by $46 million to nearly $262 million over the term of the next four-year contract, leaving very little money for wages or bonuses unless those costs are lowered. Steve Zanella, president and chief operating officer of MGM Grand Detroit, said, “MGM Grand Detroit remains committed to the negotiation process. Along with the other Detroit casinos and the unions representing our workers, we are eager to work toward a contract that works for everyone.”
Gayle Joseph, spokeswoman for Rock Gaming, owner of Greektown Casino, said, “We believe the parties are negotiating in good faith and are committed to reaching a fair and balanced agreement.”
A strike could lead to a shutdown at the three casinos, which are the city’s main source of tax revenue—about $170 million, or 16 percent of Detroit’s total revenues. In a reversal from a gradual decline that began in 2012, due to four casinos opening in Ohio, total gambling revenue rose 4.8 percent during the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year. According to Michigan Gaming Control Board figures, the combined annual gambling revenue of Detroit’s three casinos has steadily increased from slightly more than $1 billion in 2001 to $1.42 billion in 2011.
