With less than three hours left until midnight on Monday, US time, a strike at Detroit's three major casinos is about to take place.
At this time, Detroit is the front line of strikes for American automotive workers, and the addition of casino employees will further disrupt the economy of the city and even the entire state of Michigan.
The Detroit Casino Council, representing 3700 workers from the three major casinos in Detroit, stated that it has been negotiating a new contract with the company since early September to replace the agreement that expired on Monday night. The previous agreement has been rejected, and workers voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike within the necessary time.
Detroit casino workers have never been on strike before. Given that casino workers need to receive training and permission from regulatory agencies before they can start work, there is still doubt whether the three casinos can continue to be open to the public during the strike.
But a spokesperson for the MGM Grand Casino in Detroit said that even if a strike occurs, the venue will continue to operate.
Far apart
Nia Winston, the chairman of Unite Here Local 24, a union member of the council, stated that as of last Friday afternoon, the union's demands were still far from the casino's quotation.
The union is demanding higher wages, reimbursement of healthcare expenses, and improved retirement plans, and workers have also expressed concerns about new technologies that may affect their work, such as artificial intelligence.
According to the union, the workers were supposed to negotiate a new contract in 2020, but it was postponed for three years due to the pandemic. In these three years, the overall wages of workers have only increased by 3%, far below the actual inflation rate.
Winston also pointed out that casinos complained about a decrease in tourist numbers during negotiations, but in reality, Michigan increased its revenue by opening legal online gambling and online sports betting businesses in January 2021, while the operating personnel of the three major casinos decreased by about 1500 people compared to before the pandemic.
Data shows that the three major casinos - MGM Grand Casino, MotorCity Casino, and Greek City Hollywood Casino - had a total online and offline revenue of $2.27 billion in 2022, an increase of $813 million from the revenue from offline gambling before the 2019 pandemic.
MGM International Hotel spokesperson Dara Cohen stated that she will continue to negotiate a new contract with the union to demonstrate her commitment to Detroit employees.