Unifor is urging casino to reopen all restaurants
Caesars Windsor opts to activate just one of three eateries as COVID rules ease
The union leader representing employees at Caesars Windsor criticized the casino's decision to keep some restaurants closed when the casino reopens this week.
Dave Cassidy, president of Unifor Local 444, said on social media Tuesday a partial reopening of casino restaurants leaves out some union employees.
“Through this pandemic … we've made it clear when they open, we want our facilities, our food outlets, opened as well,” Cassidy said in a video message.
“For whatever reason, Caesars is not doing that.”
The casino will open Cafe 377, a new restaurant staffed by Unifor members, Friday. It's a move Cassidy welcomes, and said they're happy to be back at 50 per cent capacity.
But, Cassidy said, Nero's Steakhouse, Legends, and the Market Buffet — all employing union members — are not slated to open, leaving some workers out of the casino's reopening plan.
“That's problematic for us because we have a lot of high seniority people that are still not coming back to work right away until we can get those food outlets open.”
In a statement, a Caesars spokesperson said management plans to reopen other restaurants as business ramps up.
“We have plans to open our other popular restaurants up, including Neros Steakhouse and Legends, as soon as business demands allow us to consistently sustain multiple outlets,” said Scott Jenkins, the casino's director of public relations. Several of the casino's bars will also be open starting Friday.
“At this point, we expect customer demand will be fulfilled by Cafe 377 but we look forward to reopening Neros and Legends in the upcoming weeks.”
Jenkins said the casino also leases space to other restaurants that have each made individual reopening decisions.
“They can control if they open our outlets and it's important for them to do so,” Cassidy said.
Under Step 3 of the province's reopening framework, Caesars will reopen Friday with 50 per cent capacity, with physical distancing and masks in place. The casino closed March 16, 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with brief reopenings for select customers last fall.
We have a lot of high seniority people that are still not coming back to work . . .