(Reuters) – The Detroit Casino Council said on Friday it has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract covering 3,700 workers at MGM Grand Detroit operated by MGM Resorts, Hollywood Casino at Greektown operated by Penn and MotorCity Casino.
The five-year agreement ends a month-long strike which was the first in the history of the Detroit Casino Council (DCC), a negotiating committee representing five labor unions.
The Unite Here Local 24, United Auto Workers (UAW) and Teamsters Local 1038 were among the unions that negotiated a contract with the companies.
The negotiating committee demanded higher wages to keep up with inflation after it agreed to a three-year contract extension in 2020 with 3% annual raises. Inflation in Detroit has risen 20% since then, according to a DCC statement.
The unions also sought workload reduction, as well as improved healthcare and retirement benefits.
Industry gaming revenue in Detroit, including iGaming and online sports revenue, has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The Detroit casino industry generated $2.27 billion in 2022, according to the DCC.
Brick-and-mortar casinos in Detroit reported revenue of $1.2 billion in 2022, a $200 million decline from 2019, before the pandemic, according to Michigan state data.
The negotiating committee estimated the strike would risk a total of $3.4 million in operator revenue per day, with the greatest impact on MGM Grand Detroit at $1.7 million per day.
The tentative agreement comes after about 40,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas also reached a tentative labor deal with Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and MGM earlier this month.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York and Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
