Detroit: Union casinos in a union town

The gaming industry is relatively new to Detroit, with three casinos opening downtown facilities in 1999 and 2000. More than 6,000 workers there, however, are standing by a tried-and-true principle: If you want decent wages, good benefits, and a fair workplace, you need to have a union contract.

Workers at all three casinos — MGM Grand, Motor City, and Greektown — became union members shortly after the facilities began operating, when a majority at each workplace signed union cards.

Dealers, cage clerks, slot technicians, pit clerks and other workers at the casinos are UAW members. The dealers are the first dealers in any casino in the United States to win a union contract.

"We've got a really good contract," says Neil Anderson a dealer at Greektown Casino who was a member of the bargaining committee there. "This agreement is great for the casinos, too, because it has stabilized the work force.

"The UAW is one of four unions to join together as part of the Detroit Casino Council, a coalition that represents union workers at the three casinos. Highlights of the contracts, which apply similar terms and conditions for workers at all three casinos, include a $2,000 lump sum seniority parity bonus; wage increases of 35 cents per hour or 3 percent, whichever is greater; and benefit improvements and cost savings in health insurance and dental care.

If you are interested in organizing your workplace with the UAW, contact our Organizing Department or call 1-800 2GET-UAW (1-800-243-8829). You'll be connected to (or get a call back from) a UAW organizer who can answer questions and tell you what it takes to organize a union at your workplace.

If you're in Canada, call 1-800-387-0538 to reach UAW Local 251, a Canadian UAW local union that helps Canadian workers organize.

"Because we want fairness for everyone, at all the casinos."

— Neal Anderson, Dealer, Greektown Casino, UAW Local 7777