Latest News - November 2011

November 2, 2011
MGM casino has new labor proposal; will Detroit workers approve it?
Source: Detroit Free Press
By: Matt Helms

MGM casino has new labor proposal; will Detroit workers approve it?

Helped by a mediator, union bargainers and management at MGM Grand Detroit late Tuesday night agreed to a new deal that will go before workers of the city’s largest casino who last week rejected a previous four-year contract proposal.

Two members of the UAW Local 7777 posted notices on the union’s Facebook page that a tentative deal had been reached, without going into detail. A union spokesman declined comment this morning.

But a card games dealer for MGM who asked not to be named because he doesn’t have union authorization to speak said MGM upped the signing bonus by $500, now up to a maximum of $4,000 paid at ratification, plus a raise of 2% or 30 cents per hour, whichever is higher, in the last year of the four-year contract.

The card dealer said the mediated proposal appears to do away with extra deductibles before health coverage kicks in of $250 per year for an individual and $500 for a family. But casino workers would still pay significantly higher premiums for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and new premiums for HAP insurance.

MGM Grand workers rejected a previous four-year deal by a 5-1 margin just days after workers at the city’s other casinos, MotorCity Casino Hotel and Greektown Casino-Hotel, overwhelmingly approved similar contracts. MGM is said to be in the best financial shape of Detroit’s casinos, and workers were resentful about taking concessions at a time of profit at the city’s largest casino by revenue and market share.

It wasn’t clear when MGM workers would vote on the new proposal, which would cover all unionized workers at the casino.