Workers at 8 Ontario casinos to strike if no agreement is reached by July 22

The union representing employees at 8 Ontario casinos has announced that its members have voted to strike if no new agreements with their employers are reached by midnight on July 22.

Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, has confirmed that the strike mandate covers 1,830 workers at eight Great Canadian Gaming Corporation venue locations, including the Casino Woodbine in northwest Toronto.

According to Lana Payne, Unifor’s national secretary-treasurer, casino employers have been able to go back to pre-pandemic levels following the shutdowns attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also stated that the union’s goal at the negotiating table is to share some of the gains with casino employees who are responsible for the casino operators’ success.

As confirmed by the union, bargaining teams prioritized wages, benefits, and pensions in negotiations, and they are also looking to convert part-time positions into full-time positions.

Unifor members who work at casinos’ slot machines, table games, kitchen and culinary, food and beverage, cashiering, security, housekeeping, maintenance, and guest services could be affected by a potential agreement.

According to Corey Dalton, president of Unifor Local 1090, the union values its customers and the relationships it has built over the years. Dalton stated that good wages and benefits have a direct impact on workers’ job satisfaction, which is great for business because well-paid employees perform better.

Unifor represents 1,500 gaming employees at the Great Blue Heron Casino, the Casino Woodbine, the Pickering Casino Resort, the Casino Ajax, the Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands, and the Shorelines Casino Peterborough.

The union is also representative of 30 security employees at Elements Casino Mohawk and 300 employees at Elements Casino Brantford, which are all owned by Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.

As said before, Unifor is the largest union in Canada’s private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major sector of the country’s economy. The employee organization is known for fighting for equality and social justice not only in Canada but also internationally, and it aims to create progressive change for a better future for its members.