MGM Grand Detroit workers approve deal

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 11:23 a.m.

Phil Schloop, a spokesman for the labor coalition Detroit Casino Council, said 68 percent of the 2,200 represented workers who cast ballots Monday voted to approve what will be their first contract.

Workers at the MotorCity Casino were to vote Tuesday on the deal reached Saturday.

Details on the tentative three-year deal for the nonsalaried workers, who include dealers, food and beverage service staffers, parking valets, maintenance workers and custodians, were not immediately available.

Better pay and benefits have been key issues, union leaders have said.

"Everyone involved worked very hard to reach this three-year agreement," Scott Snow, president and chief operating officer at MGM Grand, said in a statement Monday. "We look forward to a positive working relationship with the Detroit Casino Council."

The union-backed workers account for a majority of the more than 5,000 employees at the gambling halls.

Negotiators for a year have tried to hash out the first contract for the largely hourly workers, including "basically everyone but managers and supervisors" and security, Schloop has said.

Security guards agreed on a contract earlier this year.

Schloop's council is made up of bargaining units from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 372, the United Auto Workers, the Union of Operating Engineers and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union.

Schloop has said his council has been organizing workers at the city's virtually finished, 2,400-employee Greektown Casino, awaiting state licensing and tentatively scheduled to open Nov. 10.

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