Windsor Casino Rejects 2nd Tentative Agreement

[davewindsor]

Employees must be feeling pretty confident about Windsor's economy. It was only a few years ago the unemployment rate was double digits. I think it's pretty rare for a union to reject a 2nd deal. Difficult to form an opinion but unskilled workers, housekeepers, etc., should be happy making more than the new $15.00 Ontario minimum wage shouldn't they?

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...ment/35067071/

The union greed is absolutely ridiculous. It gives Windsor a bad name. Caesar's should pull out and the OLG should tear down the casino like the Windsor Racetrack. No one I know supports those retards. They're already paid a lot more than minimum wage and they were offered a $2.25 an hour wage increase plus a $1,600 sign on bonus for full timers and $1,200 for part-timers and they get huge tips on top of that.

I spoke to a black jack dealer at Greek Town a year ago and he told me he made $7 an hour plus tips. The tips made it double to triple. How is Caesar's supposed to compete with the comps offered by the Detroit 3? Caesar's has 2,300 employees on their payroll and they have to deal with this union BS?? It never turned a profit before it was run by Caesar's.

Tear the casino down and those union pricks can go collect welfare or get a real job in a factory. It gets me so upset reading about it every couple days and everyone I know says the same thing. The average Windsor resident thinks they've lost their minds.

[401don]

The union greed is absolutely ridiculous. It gives Windsor a bad name. Caesar's should pull out and the OLG should tear down the casino like the Windsor Racetrack. No one I know supports those retards. They're already paid a lot more than minimum wage and they were offered a $2.25 an hour wage increase plus a $1,600 sign on bonus for full timers and $1,200 for part-timers and they get huge tips on top of that.

I spoke to a black jack dealer at Greek Town a year ago and he told me he made $7 an hour plus tips. The tips made it double to triple. How is Caesar's supposed to compete with the comps offered by the Detroit 3? Caesar's has 2,300 employees on their payroll and they have to deal with this union BS?? It never turned a profit before it was run by Caesar's.

Tear the casino down and those union pricks can go collect welfare or get a real job in a factory. It gets me so upset reading about it every couple days and everyone I know says the same thing. The average Windsor resident thinks they've lost their minds.

There were no wage details in the News article but I assumed they making a lot more than minimum. The fact the Ont. Gov't built that 2nd tower, basically bankrupting the other downtown hotels, was ridiculous as well.

[davewindsor]

There were no wage details in the News article but I assumed they making a lot more than minimum. The fact the Ont. Gov't built that 2nd tower, basically bankrupting the other downtown hotels, was ridiculous as well.

$20-$30 an hour. And they want the same increase as minimum wage, so we're talking what, another 35% plus tips?

[Canadian Visitor]

$20-$30 an hour. And they want the same increase as minimum wage, so we're talking what, another 35% plus tips?

Where did you two get the idea this was about a larger raise, in the main?

After seeing this thread, I googled the story to see what I could pick up.

Based on the link below:

http://windsorstar.com/news/local-ne...our-disruption

" Unifor national president Jerry Dias came to Windsor for a rally April 22 and said the dispute was about a lack of respect, disputes over scheduling, too many part-time workers who don’t get benefits and minimum wage workers in an industry that makes millions of dollars a year.

and

One worker on the picket line who didn’t want to be named Monday for fear of retaliation from management said he wishes the various employee groups, from security to hotel workers, had more time to consider the details of the agreement before voting Friday. He said workers acted on emotions and many people were angry about the fourth year added to the contract. He also wanted language to address scheduling and vacation time based on seniority.

With no inside knowledge on my part, it doesn't sound like wages are at the heart of this, it sounds like scheduling above all else. Staff who don't get fixed hours, never mind full-time hours, whose pay cheque bounces up and down week to week due to varied and unpredictable hours, as well as many folks working part-time who get a lower hourly wage than F/T staff w/no benefits.
AS someone who employs people, I would never treat my staff that way. Even seasonal get the same hours week in, week out, so they can plan their lives and rely on the same pay each week. IT rather concerns me that you both instantly go the idea that greed is at the heart of this dispute without ever verifying that to be the case. If you have additional insight feel free to offer it.

But based on what's public domain, it sounds like we have staff who don't like getting @##@% over; and left unable to count on their job to pay the bills.

Doesn't read as overly greedy at first blush.

[davewindsor]

Where did you two get the idea this was about a larger raise, in the main?

Since you are unfamiliar with union lingo, let's go through this again.

" Unifor national president Jerry Dias came to Windsor for a rally April 22 and said the dispute was about a lack of respect, disputes over scheduling, too many part-time workers who donÂ’t get benefits and minimum wage workers in an industry that makes millions of dollars a year.

Three main issues mentioned:
Lack of respect = Union talk for not enough money.
Scheduling is in a separate coma.
Newbies = part-time workers and temps [[minimum wage workers). Most companies in the service sector that are not union usually start people part-time and they eventually become full-timers depending on how they are evaluated by their supervisors. It's just normal business practice.

Respect and scheduling are two separate issues in seperate comas. Not the same thing. They want respect = they want a much larger paycheque. That's all it means.

Slot attendants and servers make around $20 an hour plus tips. It's in the earlier article. A wage increase plus an increased $1,600 sign on bonus is not enough money? That's just greed.

These aren't skilled jobs. What does the union expect? To put the casino out of business?? The casino stated repeatedly they don't have the money for higher wage increases than offered, which is why they stopped talking for large periods of time. Scheduling is workable. But, higher hourly increases? You can't squeeze blood out of a stone.

With no inside knowledge on my part, it doesn't sound like wages are at the heart of this, it sounds like scheduling above all else.

Cry me a river. With 2,300 employees, it's not about scheduling because there isn't a lack of employees. If someone doesn't want a shift, they could easily pass it off to someone else. You can't expect to get the best, highest tip paying Saturday evening shifts every week if you refuse to take the slow, low tip paying shifts. It's a 24/7 casino. You have to take them both to show the supervisor you're reliable and then you get more shifts.

Comparatively speaking, they are all doing way better than the non-union competing Detroit 3 casinos, which makes it about greed. They would not make this kind of money in any other service job in Windsor. Do you think hotels and restaurants pay this kind of money, sign on bonuses and benefits that union casino workers get?

More importantly, how is the casino supposed to make money when their labour expenses are a lot higher than the Detroit 3 casinos? If there wasn't a greedy union there, I bet you most of the workers would be there full time.

If workers don't like it, quit and find work elsewhere instead of being whiney, bi-ches. Otherwise, tear it down. Windsor has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the province now, so don't give me that nonsense that they have no choice.

BTW--casino workers live off the misery of others, so don't expect me to feel sympathetic because someone didn't get their shift. Somebody who does that is not on the same level as, say, a restaurant server as Swiss Chalet. I don't know how someone can work there and sleep well at night. If it wasn't about greed, they wouldn't continue working there. They should just tear the place down instead of giving them huge increases that come from the misery of others.

[Shai_Hulud]

BTW--casino workers live off the misery of others, so don't expect me to feel sympathetic because someone didn't get their shift. Somebody who does that is not on the same level as, say, a restaurant server as Swiss Chalet. I don't know how someone can work there and sleep well at night. If it wasn't about greed, they wouldn't continue working there. They should just tear the place down instead of giving them huge increases that come from the misery of others.

So the floor workers at the casino are terrible people for making a living, but we have no such animus for Caesars Entertainment or the Provincial government which are feeding at the same trough?

[davewindsor]

So the floor workers at the casino are terrible people for making a living, but we have no such animus for Caesars Entertainment or the Provincial government which are feeding at the same trough?

Yes, they are terrible people for making a living off the misery of others and then wanting to exploit it even more with their outrageous demands. They have a choice to work there or somewhere else--there's tonnes of jobs out there in today's market. Just because the government makes something legal doesn't make it right.

[Wesley Mouch]

Since you are unfamiliar with union lingo, let's go through this again.

Three main issues mentioned:
Lack of respect = Union talk for not enough money.
Scheduling is in a separate coma.
Newbies = part-time workers and temps [[minimum wage workers). Most companies in the service sector that are not union usually start people part-time and they eventually become full-timers depending on how they are evaluated by their supervisors. It's just normal business practice.

Ha! Thanks for that.

...snip...
These aren't skilled jobs. What does the union expect? To put the casino out of business?? The casino stated repeatedly they don't have the money for higher wage increases than offered, which is why they stopped talking for large periods of time. Scheduling is workable. But, higher hourly increases? You can't squeeze blood out of a stone.

The casino little doubt has the money. But they also has an obligation to their owners [[and government) to deliver a return to them in exchange for their investment.

Wages disputes have to be solved somehow. One option is to eliminate unions and go full company-discretion. I like this, as it immediately holds the company responsible for paying too little or too much. But we've decided to settle wage disputes with mandatory collective bargaining. Strikes are the tool that is used when there's a disagreement that can't be settled at the table. Let the workers and company sit it out until somebody cries uncle. This just isn't really that important. If a hospital closes, somebody may die. If a casino closes, somebody just loses an opportunity to become poor. Society can continue just fine until somebody gives in.

[davewindsor]

Ha! Thanks for that.

The casino little doubt has the money. But they also has an obligation to their owners [[and government) to deliver a return to them in exchange for their investment.

Wages disputes have to be solved somehow. One option is to eliminate unions and go full company-discretion. I like this, as it immediately holds the company responsible for paying too little or too much. But we've decided to settle wage disputes with mandatory collective bargaining. Strikes are the tool that is used when there's a disagreement that can't be settled at the table. Let the workers and company sit it out until somebody cries uncle. This just isn't really that important. If a hospital closes, somebody may die. If a casino closes, somebody just loses an opportunity to become poor. Society can continue just fine until somebody gives in.

X2

Better if the whole thing shut down permanently as it's not an essential public good. It's not like there's a lack of jobs in this city these days anyway.

[ASilvaman]

The union greed is absolutely ridiculous. It gives Windsor a bad name. Caesar's should pull out and the OLG should tear down the casino like the Windsor Racetrack. No one I know supports those retards. They're already paid a lot more than minimum wage and they were offered a $2.25 an hour wage increase plus a $1,600 sign on bonus for full timers and $1,200 for part-timers and they get huge tips on top of that.

I spoke to a black jack dealer at Greek Town a year ago and he told me he made $7 an hour plus tips. The tips made it double to triple. How is Caesar's supposed to compete with the comps offered by the Detroit 3? Caesar's has 2,300 employees on their payroll and they have to deal with this union BS?? It never turned a profit before it was run by Caesar's.

Tear the casino down and those union pricks can go collect welfare or get a real job in a factory. It gets me so upset reading about it every couple days and everyone I know says the same thing. The average Windsor resident thinks they've lost their minds.

What gets me upset is when people such as yourself say that factory jobs are the only real job. I guess everyone else from law enforcement to nurses and construction folks are just flunkies collecting paycheck for nothing. You're nothing unless your in a factory standing next to a robot that's basically doing the hard work for you? Let me be the first to tell you that your so-called real jobs are gonna be obsolete in 5 years, what are manly men gonna call a "real job" then?

[Richard]

What gets me upset is when people such as yourself say that factory jobs are the only real job. I guess everyone else from law enforcement to nurses and construction folks are just flunkies collecting paycheck for nothing. You're nothing unless your in a factory standing next to a robot that's basically doing the hard work for you? Let me be the first to tell you that your so-called real jobs are gonna be obsolete in 5 years, what are manly men gonna call a "real job" then?

That mindset has become all to common,unless you have a piece of paper with 10 degrees on it your dirt.That is why teachers,Leo,firefighters etc get so much disrespect.

My favorite is handing a lawyer a bill for $300 and watching their reaction,it is always,what ? It has only been an hour,I say yep and if I hired you it would be $500 an hour,that will be cash only please.

Anybody working a respectable job should be given the same respect that one expects in return,it does not matter what it is.

[davewindsor]

What gets me upset is when people such as yourself say that factory jobs are the only real job. I guess everyone else from law enforcement to nurses and construction folks are just flunkies collecting paycheck for nothing. You're nothing unless your in a factory standing next to a robot that's basically doing the hard work for you? Let me be the first to tell you that your so-called real jobs are gonna be obsolete in 5 years, what are manly men gonna call a "real job" then?

I guess there's a misunderstanding about what I meant about that statement. I never said factory work was the only real job. A factory worker isn't profiting off the misery of others like a casino employee. Casino workers are generally unskilled laborers, so they could easily quit the casino job and work in a factory. Nothing wrong with working in law enforcement, nursing, construction, etc. It's real work. But, to be a nurse, you need years of education first so it's not easy for a casino worker to transfer over to that field. But if they found a job immediately after quitting in the police department or in construction, that's fine because they are not profiting off the misery of others.