Caesar’s Canada Casino Poised for Strike
Labor issues ‘north of the boarder’ in Canada casino Caesar Windsor have moved closer to an outright labor strike according to a recent article posted on PlaySlots4RealMoney.com by Paul Brooks.
The deadline for such action has been set for Wednesday, April 4 unless an agreement between casino management and the representatives for Unifor Local 444’s strike committee takes place. The current contract expires on that date.Last Wednesday, the strike committee met at the labor union’s offices to begin preparations for a work stoppage. This would ultimately lead to a strike th at would effectively shut down the Canada casino and hotel until a new agreement is reached.
According to PlaySlots4RealMoney.com, negotiations between Caesar Windsor’s employees and casino management have been ongoing since Feb. 12 concerning the terms of a new contract. Unifor Local 444 is a local union that represents the 2,300 workers at the casino. It also represents the 4,600 Chrysler Canada employees as well as a large number of other employees working in the Windsor area. In a vote on March 21 organized by the labor union, Caesar Windsor employees did authorize a strike later this week if negotiation do break down.
Stephanie Dunphy has been named as the strike co-ordinator by PlaySlots4RealMoney.com. She spoke to local media outlets last week expressing the hope that a new mutually beneficial deal could still take place. The 2,300 casino employees include dealers and cashiers as well as housekeepers, janitors, servers and cooks in the resort’s hotel and restaurants. The vote to strike has led to sign being made, “strike captains” being put into place and food and portable toilets place on order if needed. Dunphy did admit that if a strike does take place, day-to-day operations at the casino and hotel would shut down.
The report states that 98.3 percent of the workers effected by a work shut down voted in favor of a strike. The plan as it stands right now is a work stoppage at noon on April 4 if a new agreement is not in place. The union’s Third Vice-President Doug Boughner confirmed this plan. Local 444’s president James Stewart stated that the union is focusing its efforts on the financial demands of the casino workers, while putting any non-monetary issues on the backburner for now. The main demands from the workers are centered around higher wages and pensions. There are also some issues on the table concerning unfavorable workplace conditions.
Representatives for Caesar Windsor stated that it will not be making any public comments while the issue remains unresolved. The last labor strike at this Canada casino was back in 2 004 and it shut down both the gaming floor and the hotel for 41 days from April 3 to May 14. Casino industry insiders believe that there will most likely be a strike this time around as well given the lack of progress in the negotiations over the past two months.Any work stoppage could be a financial boon for online casinos for Canada players looking to fill the real money gambling void with fast and easy access to online real money casinos.
