Unifor president Jerry Dias visits striking workers
Hundreds of striking Caesars Windsor workers and union supporters marched around the casino Sunday in a rally of support on the strike’s 17th day.
“We can’t have a situation where we have minimum, minimum wage workers and workers that make slightly above working in an industry that is making millions and millions of dollars a year,” Unifor national president Jerry Dias said Sunday after leading the march with representatives from Unifor Local 444. “There has to be some common sense to this.” Dias said it’s the fourth strike in 23 years with the casino and it’s about a lack of respect and fights over scheduling and too many part-time workers.
About 2,300 Caesars Windsor workers are represented by Unifor Local 444. Dias said there are hundreds of casual workers who get a shift a week and about 700 parttime workers who may be working five days a week but are still classified as part-time labour. Dias said the company avoids giving those workers their full benefits and yet is an industry that does incredibly well.
There are major issues the members want resolved and the dispute is also important because there are five other contract negotiations starting in the province with other casinos, Dias said.
He’s concerned about the impact the strike is having on workers and the community as a whole including tourism and restaurants. The casino and hotel workers have been on strike since April 6 after rejecting a tentative deal by a vote of 59 per cent. The two sides got back to the bargaining table Wednesday but the talks broke off after only a few hours. James Stewart, president of Unifor Local 444, said the union made a presentation and after a few hours the company said it wasn’t interested in talking about it. “In our minds I saw no intent to bargain. Even if you put the money aside, let’s talk about the other issues,” Stewart said.
The last strike went on for 42 days in 2004, he said.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt the casino is trying to starve us out.”
Doug Boughner, vice-president of Unifor Local 444, said no one wins during a strike and Caesars Windsor should return to bargaining. He said the union members are willing to stay out as long as it takes.
The casino and hotel are closed. Hotel reservations for April have been cancelled and Colosseum shows this month have been postponed.
Dias also talked at the rally about the unfairness of fewer paid personal emergency leave days for autoworkers than the rest of workers under Ontario’s Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act.
Last week the provincial government announced it was reviewing the matter and a private members bill was also put forward to reverse the exemption. For one industry to be excluded reeks of discrimination and it needs to be corrected quickly, Dias said.
“They know that this is a disaster. You can’t exclude one group of workers,” he said of autoworkers in both unionized and non-unionized plants.