Last updated: November 28, 2023
MotorCity Casino and other gaming properties in Detroit suspended certain services as thousands of workers protested in a strike, impacting operations of key gambling areas.
After thousands of casino workers in Detroit went on strike on Tuesday, MotorCity Casino and other gaming properties had to shut down some of their services.
Jamie Johnson, a server at MGM Grand Detroit, is in the middle.
In the middle, server Jamie Johnson of the MGM Grand Detroit joins other workers on a picket line. Johnson and a lot of other union members who work in casinos in Detroit went on strike on Tuesday.
MotorCity shut down the poker room, high-limit table games, and slots on the first floor for now.
The FanDuel Sportsbook at MotorCity is also closed. People can’t bet in person or at the kiosks. A cashier will be at a counter for people who play at a sportsbook and want to cash in their tickets.
MotorCity also said that some bars and restaurants are closed for now. Also, the valet area was closed.
Three casinos in Detroit, including MotorCity, went on strike at noon on Tuesday. The strike was called by 3,700 workers who are part of the Detroit Casino Council (DCC).
Also, MGM Grand Detroit said that its hotel and casino valet is closed right now because of the strike.
A third place, the Hollywood Casino at Greektown, also had to cut back on some services. The valet is closed for now, and the restaurant and drink service may be limited as well.
Representatives from the casino said they have made generous offers to the workers.
Hollywood Casino told CNBC that they were disappointed with the Detroit Casino Council’s decision and pointed out the fair and generous settlement offers that had been made to help their employees and the long-term success of the business.
Mark Buckley, president and chief operating officer of MGM’s Midwest Group, told CNBC in a statement that the company had given the union six proposals. He also said that the pay raise they were offering was the biggest in MGM Grand Detroit’s history.
But workers defended their choice to go on strike.
In her interview with CBS News, bartender Susan Gallagher at Hollywood Casino at Greektown stressed that the workers weren’t asking for too much; they were just looking for one job that would pay enough. She brought up the fact that some of the workers had to work more than one job to make ends meet.
CBS News reported that Milledge McCaster, an engineer at the Hollywood Casino at Greektown, said that the workers were focusing on getting a fair contract to show how dedicated they were during the pandemic. Johanna Lams, a local UAW chairperson and a table games dealer at MGM Grand Detroit, also told the Detroit Free Press that she didn’t think the company’s proposals were fair, especially when looking at inflation and pay rates.
It has been since September that the DCC and the casinos have been trying to work out a new deal. Not long ago, workers overwhelmingly agreed to go on strike.
There are five groups that make up the DCC: the UAW, Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324, and Unite Here Local 24.
About 34,000 members of the United Auto Workers are on strike in Michigan and other states as well.
The Culinary and Bartenders Union in Las Vegas said that 95% of its members voted to allow a strike if talks with the casino owners over a new contract fail.
This past week, union members held an informational picket at a number of casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.
Marilyn Chavez is an associate researcher at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, where she studied the mathematical probabilities and aspects of casino games like slot machines. She’s written several case studies which have been published by multiple problem-gaming institutions to help spread awareness about the dangers of online gambling and gambling addiction. She also presented a 2019 Ted talk on the topic of gambling among minors.
