Horseshoe Casino Baltimore workers hold rally for raises
About 20 unionized employees attend event calling out Caesars Entertainment after company reports strong revenues
Unionized workers at Horseshoe Casino Baltimore are demanding raises in line with others in the gaming and hospitality industry in the city and elsewhere, saying casino revenues have rebounded since the height of the coronavirus pandemic while compensation has stalled.
About 20 workers and union representatives demonstrated Wednesday in front of the casino on Russell Street near downtown, calling for raises, holiday pay and other changes. Workers said bargaining has stalled with owner Caesars Entertainment on a contract that expired in October.
Caesars officials did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment.
Employees say they want wages that align with other union-represented hospitality companies in the city.
“Everyone’s struggling to get by, with inflation through the roof,” said Tiego Murray, 33, a bar porter at Brew Brothers, one of the casino’s restaurants. “If inflation can be adjusted, then so can our pay . ... Everything’s been difficult, just keeping up with rent and bills going up.”
Horseshoe Casino’s lowest non-tipped workers earn $14.67 an hour and have not had a raise since October 2021.
Workers also are seeking holiday pay, saying no extra compensation is offered for working those days.
A four-year contract Caesars signed last year with Atlantic City workers included paid holidays and “substantial” raises to a range of $18 to $22 an hour, union representatives said.
In its most recent quarter, the gaming operator generated more than $1.5 billion in revenues at regional casinos outside of Las Vegas, with the company calling it the “strongest third quarter that we’ve ever had,” in an earnings call.
The union argues that gaming revenues at Horseshoe Baltimore have been recovering since the pandemic-struck year of 2020. The casino reported $209.9 million in gaming revenue, with an additional $6.5 million in retail sports wagering revenue, last year, up from $209.4 million in 2021 and $145.3 million in 2020.
David Carleton, 52, a bartender at Brew Brothers, said some movement has been made on holiday pay, which he said is a hospitality industry standard.
But “there’s a lot of disrespect towards the city and its residents in the way they’ve approached bargaining,” Carleton said.
For instance, he said, the offered wage increases “are just not substantial at all . ... They’re only giving us spare change for three out of the four years that we’re bargaining for right now . ... Pay just needs to keep up.”
Workers also say the casino remains understaffed.
“In every department we are struggling to do the work of three or four people,” said Andrea Williams, a cook at the casino.
The hospitality industry is Baltimore’s third-largest employer and “really important to revitalizing the city in terms of jobs that people can have to support their families,” said Tracy Lingo of Unite Here Local 7, one of the unions in a coalition representing 600 casino dealers, cocktail servicer, cooks, bartenders, cleaning staff and other workers.
“Here workers are really far behind our other union hotels in the city,” Lingo said. “We’re trying to even that wage up and move forward in future years.”
She said Caesars has offered a jump in wages in the first year, but only 25 centsan-hour increases each year for four years for tipped workers and 40 cents an hour for non-tipped workers.