UFCW Local 401 Members Negotiate Historic New Contract with Palace Casinos
Come Vote YES on YOUR New Contract!
Congratulations to all employees at the Palace and Baccarat Casinos on negotiating a radical new Union Contract with Gateway Casinos! Your Bargaining Committees have won a historic new deal that puts workers first at the casinos, and which has made management sit up and listen to the needs of union members!
Your union Bargaining Committees have worked hard to negotiate a recommended deal to improve your Union Contracts, working conditions, and the labour relations environment at both casinos owned by Gateway. It is a huge win for the Committees, and now Gateway employees must vote “YES” to secure their new Union Contract and the new rights and benefits that come with it!
During negotiations, our union membership asked us to win improvements for them at work. Local 401 members told us they wanted a change in leadership! And change they got! UFCW Local 401 members played a significant role in achieving this, and by doing so have ensured our members are respected at work by their management.
It keeps getting better! UFCW Local 401 and Gateway members made history again by pioneering the implementation of sit-stand stools for employees in this new contract, while also negotiating mandatory ergonomic training to benefit employees at both casinos.
As a result of these negotiations, employees also have more access to information from their employer now. At the negotiating table, UFCW Local 401 and the members never stopped pushing for disclosure on the Casino’s future plans! Silence and secrets were no longer an option when it came to our future and we put the company in a position where they had to talk to workers.
Another win! This push forced Gateway to disclose their future plans and gave our members the information they were looking for. Now that the doors of communication between workers and management have been opened, members have hope for the future and are now optimistic about their employment with the casino.
These achievements are just scraping the surface of the many groundbreaking victories won in this historic agreement at the Palace Casino! Here are even more highlights:
• 100% employer paid short-term disability plan for all employees who qualify for company benefits!
• Part-time benefits package increase to $650.00 per year!
• Improvements in the ability to transfer between casinos (from the Palace to Baccarat) giving members the freedom to choose where they want to work!
• Above average wage increases over the [5] five year term of term of the contract, and full back pay for all members, including those who retired during negotiations!
• Winning an improved benefits package that includes: a reduction in the benefits qualifier to a 30 (thirty) hour average over a period of 3 (three) months, the introduction of a part-time RRSP program, and the right to take advantage of the superior benefit package already enjoyed by union members at the Baccarat!
• Winning improvements and clarification on the rules around statutory holiday pay to benefit union members!
• Improvements for future negotiations with Gateway where we now have dates lined up in the future for both casinos to negotiate their later contracts at the same time, ensuring we can continue to Bargain Strong Together.
• Winning the right to have a full-time, paid Walking Steward in the workplace, who is accountable to the union and who will be available to union members when they need help at work!
• Winning increased job protection for employees with new job classifications!
• Winning job protection guarantees for employees during the (5) five-year contract, this includes existing and potential housekeeping employees at the Palace whose jobs will not be contracted out during the contract’s term!
• Winning increased job security for employees working in slots and food beverage, and improving management’s old, confusing employment policies for these jobs to benefit our members.
• Securing the right and ability of employees to take time off from work for bereavement or to take a leave of absence.
• Improvements in training and wage opportunities for Roulette employees at the Palace and increased opportunity to improve dealer levels and wages in the gaming department!
• Winning paid union orientation for ALL new employees!
• Winning a commitment from management to provide the safest smoking area allowed within the constraints of the Casino’s mall location.
• Winning a safer workplace for all our members and a safer environment for all casino visitors! Guests will now go through a security check before entering the casinos, ensuring our members are safe at work!
UFCW Local 401 members at the Palace and Baccarat Casinos in Edmonton have come together in this negotiating process and have gained a strong sense of solidarity between them, which had never existed before. The union Bargaining Committees are expecting a slam-dunk vote of “YES” to accept the new Union Contract by their Sisters and Brothers working at the Palace Casino!
During these negotiations, union members stood up and said to the company in one loud and clear voice, WE MATTER! It was a voice the owners of Gateway Casinos could not ignore, even all the way from their corporate offices in Toronto. This union is proud of Gateway employees for their astounding achievement; we were the underdogs from the start in this campaign and we proved you should never count the underdog out!
Now, we are almost there! The next step in our fight for fairness at Gateway is for all union members at the Palace and Baccarat Casinos to vote “YES” on this new and exciting Union Contract to guarantee these new rights and benefits for all our members working at Gateway! This new contract will not be yours unless you vote YES to accept it and ratify it!
If you have any questions about the tentative new contract or about the voting process, do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help! To learn more, contact your local Shop Steward or UFCW Local 401 Union Representative, Rick Schneider at T: (780) 452-0362.
Memorandum of Settlement between UFCW Local 401 and Palace Casino
Letter of Understanding between UFCW Local 401 and Gateway Casinos
Posted on: August 25,2015