Caesars Windsor Reaches 3-Year Deal with Union Workers

^{Caesars Windsor, in Canada across the river from Detroit, came to terms with its workers’ union just before a strike took hold. (Image: Umer Ahmed / Alamy)}

Caesars Windsor reached a three-year agreement with 1,400 union workers on Tuesday, a week after the two sides narrowly avoided a work stoppage at the Ontario casino.

The members of Unifor Local 444 voted overwhelmingly in favor of the new deal, with 83.3 percent of workers approving the agreement.

Increased Wages Central to Negotiations

The primary benefit for workers in the new contract will be a raise of $4 per hour over the next three years. Both full-time and part-time workers will get an immediate $2 hourly raise, with additional gains of $1 per hour coming in each of the next two years. 

 Unifor Local 444 president James Stewart said that this agreement represents the “most lucrative contract since Caesars Windsor opened.”

“When you do the math just on straight time hours, that puts $18,000 in our members’ pockets over the life of the agreement,” Stewart said. “If you’re part time, [it is] a minimum $11,000, assuming you’re not working more than the minimum.”

Stewart noted that the success of other unions in Windsor – and across the border in Detroit – showed his members what they could achieve in negotiations.

“Our members working in this city are so close to auto,” Stewart told the Windsor Star. “Their expectations are high. They’ve seen what some of our manufacturing units have bargained, and what their gains have been. The expectations were high, and they deserve it. We bargained with that in mind. I think the 83 percent ratification shows that they were pleased with the outcome.”

Stewart said that about 1,250 members of the union had registered to take part in the ratification vote.

Casino Narrowly Avoided Strike Last Week

The finalized agreement comes less than a week after Caesars Windsor workers appeared to be on the verge of a strike. That action was planned for 12:01 am on April 3, but was headed off hours earlier when the two sides came to a tentative agreement.

“We would like to commend Unifor Local 444 and the entire bargaining team for their respectful and productive efforts in achieving an agreement that is fair for our employees, while successfully balancing the sustainability of our business,” Caesars Windsor president Kevin Laforet said in a statement on Tuesday night.

In addition to increased wages, workers at Caesars Windsor will also see larger contributions to their pension plan. A second retirement option was also added to workers’ contracts, allowing retirees to collect $500 monthly for three years starting at age 65. That joins an existing option that pays out $300 per month, available starting at age 60.

Workers had previously gone on strike at Caesars Windsor for 60 days beginning in April 2018.

The casino industry is no stranger to battles with labor unions, and strikes can occasionally be lengthy as labor and management haggle over benefits. 

Two unions representing about 700 workers at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas went on strike beginning on November 15, 2024. That action lasted for 69 days, marking the longest strike by Las Vegas hotel workers since a six-year strike at the Frontier Hotel and Casino that ended in 1998.