(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 Entertainment and MotorCity Casino.
The unions, however, will continue the strike, which has been ongoing for more than a month, until the members ratify the proposed five-year contract, the Detroit Casino Council (DCC)said.
The strike is the first in the history of the DCC, a negotiating committee representing five labor unions.
The new agreement gives casino workers the largest pay increase ever negotiated, including an 18% immediate raise on average, does not add to their health care costs, provides workload reductions and other job protections, first-ever technology contract language and retirement increases among other benefits, the DCC said.
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.
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 and Shweta Agarwal)
