• Casino Rama Labour Dispute 2019
• Casino Rama Labour Dispute 2020
• Casino Rama Labour Dispute News
• Casino Rama Labour Dispute Update

Casino Rama workers in Orillia, Ont., reach new tentative agreement Pay more in line with other gaming workers: Unifor Almost 1,500 workers at Rama including dealers, cashiers, slot workers, food and beverage staff, environmental services, finance, hotel, valet, entertainment and other staff. Casino Rama has made the headline over the past few days, as Gateway Casinos & Entertainment overseeing operation commenced optimization process and handed layoff notices to 65 individuals. This week brought the news that the casino operator has continued, this time walking out employees that are not associated with any of the labor unions. And many employees of Casino Rama continue to be concerned about the way Gateway Casinos operates. Last week, after the union and the company failed to reach an agreement, employees learned that their benefits would be immediately cut.

The union representing more than 1,000 employees at Casino Rama is “appalled” that the gambling facility’s operator, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, is poised to end employee benefits at the end of this month and is taking the corporate giant to court.

Corey Dalton, the president of Unifor Local 1090, says the union has been negotiating with Gateway for seven weeks, pleading for an extension of benefits and urging the company to “explore” the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which would “potentially provide some of our members with more than the current Canada Emergency Response Benefit program.

Casino Rama Labour Dispute 2019

Casino Rama is a large casino, hotel and entertainment complex located in the town of Rama, Ontario on the reserve land of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation.It is jointly owned by the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, with operation of the casino contracted to Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited.

Gateway, according to Dalton, “insisted they would only provide the CEWS wage-subsidy and an extension of benefits beyond June 30 if 100 per cent of the cost of benefits are paid by the employees, and only if the union would agree” to 15 concessions.

Those conditions ranged from the closure of the employee cafeteria and stopping an employee shuttle to allowing supervisors to do union work that would “lead to a loss of hours and, potentially, jobs.”

Other concessions sought by Gateway included the amalgamation of positions and giving up “all bargained rights” for dealer breaks, which “opens the door to less breaks and less jobs,” Dalton claims.

“This is all about cutting staff and cutting costs, which will lead to a significant negative experience for guests and employees,” Dalton told OrilliaMatters.

Robert Mitchell, Gateway's director of communications and public affairs, did not answer specific questions. However, he provided the following statement.

'Our focus at this time remains on preparations for reopening, working with our partners in government and our employees to provide a safe and healthy environment for our guests and staff when we have authorization to reopen,' Mitchell said in an email.

Casino Rama Labour Dispute 2020

'Our discussions with Unifor are ongoing with a goal to achieve this​ result.'

Dalton says the union is fighting mad over Gateway's 'shameful' approach.

“We have filed a grievance for a violation of the Employment Standards Act. We will pursue the grievance and under Section 49 of the Labour Relations Act, which is the fastest method of resolving the dispute,” said Dalton, who said it could take from three weeks to six weeks to get a “legal ruling.”

This is the third time since the pandemic hit that the union has had to fight for an extension of benefits.

He said moving to CEWS would be a big help to laid-off employees.

“Almost all full-time employees would benefit to varying degrees from the subsidy,” said Dalton, noting some would be eligible to receive the maximum of $847 per week.

“Dealers, cashiers, environmental services, facilities, and culinary (employees) would generally receive the greatest benefit,” said Dalton.

It’s part of a bigger problem, he said.

“This continues to show that Gateway lacks all ability to deploy a viable, long-term plan for the success of Casino Rama,” said Dalton, who noted other casino operators have, for the most part, extended benefits for their employees.

“While they continue to make cuts and destroy morale, their competitors aggressively expand and offer improved services to guests,” said Dalton, referencing Great Canadian Gaming’s operations at Woodbine, Ajax, Port Perry, Peterborough, Brantford, Flamboro, Belleville, and Mohawk.

He said Caesars Windsor has committed to provide benefits to employees for the duration of the shutdown.

“Gateway is the only major operator in Ontario refusing to extend benefits for their employees,” said Dalton.

“Gateway is either unwilling or unable to recognize that ongoing, continuous cutbacks to Casino Rama employees and cutbacks to the guest-experience are only exacerbating their drastic decline in business,” he said.

Casino Rama Labour Dispute News

“They are trying to treat a major resort casino like some budget-friendly, local gambling hall.”

Employees are feeling increasingly frustrated, too.

Casino Rama Labour Dispute Update

Two employees spoke to OrilliaMatters about the “toxic” environment at Casino Rama. They spoke on the condition of anonymity as they fear for their job.

“Gateway does not value its employees in the least,” a dealer told OrilliaMatters. “We’ve been treated like the enemy since the day they took over and this recent proposal is proof of that.”

The dealer said the company has left staff “in the dark the day since they took over and never told us what they had planned and then on the first day they were legally allowed they started the layoffs. But leading up to that, they lied and told us in a town hall that they had no plans for layoffs and we have nothing to be concerned about.”

Another long-term employee said staff “are appalled that during a time like this, when money is tight and everything is on hold, a multi-million-dollar company chooses to be so petty.”

Dalton said Gateway “has repeatedly made poor business decisions that has turned this casino, once the best and most respected casino in Ontario, into an afterthought for Ontario gamblers.”

The union leader said “Gateway’s expansion into Ontario has been an unmitigated disaster. Local 1090 strongly believes that Casino Rama workers and guests would be much better with a different operator.”

Casino Rama is a large casino, hotel and entertainment complex located in the town of Rama, Ontario on the reserve land of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. It is jointly owned by the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, with operation of the casino contracted to Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited.

Casino Rama is Ontario's only First Nations 'commercial casino' (as opposed to a lesser class, charity casino) and the largest First Nations casino in Canada. The casino also includes restaurants, a hotel and spa, and an entertainment complex which regularly hosts ticketed shows (for an additional charge).

History[edit]

The casino opened on July 31, 1996.

In 2007, a group of people, including several of the casino's employees, were arrested after police investigated a $2 million scam involving cheating at baccarat.^[1]

In 2013, Casino Rama underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation.^[2]

In November, 2016, the resort was the victim of a cyber attack, and financial and personal information about customers was stolen from the company's records.^[3]

Casino Rama has remained closed since March 16, 2020 due to COVID-19 regulations. There has been no announced reopening date.^[4]

Description[edit]

The resort consists of a 289-room hotel, a Casino with a 192,000 sq ft (17,800 m²) floor, a 5,000-seat Entertainment Centre, and ten restaurants. The casino has 2500 slot machines and 110 table games.^[3]

Concerts[edit]

The 5,036-seat Entertainment Centre has hosted a variety of stars including Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini, Christina Aguilera, Journey, Air Supply, Alice Cooper, Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis, Kelly Clarkson, Creed, 3 Doors Down, Eric Burdon, The Searchers, Faith Hill, David Cook, Celtic Thunder taped two shows here, Deep Purple, Gloria Estefan, Men at Work, Jay Leno, Jewel, Carrie Underwood, Chicago, Olivia Newton-John, Vince Gill, Tony Bennett, Bill Cosby, Styx, Michael Bolton, Ringo Starr, Neil Sedaka, Jeff Foxworthy, LeAnn Rimes, Alicia Keys - 2005, Art Garfunkel, Clint Black, David Copperfield, Petula Clark, Roger Hodgson, ZZ Top, Bad Company, Dolly Parton, The Guess Who, George Thorogood, Heart, Steve Miller, Tom Jones, New Kids on the Block, Smokey Robinson, Stone Temple Pilots, CCR, Hall & Oates, Lionel Richie, Weezer, Terra Naomi, Whitesnake and KISS. Judas Priest, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Brad Paisley, John Legend, Rick Springfield, Kelly Pickler, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Doc Walker, Trace Adkins, Blake Shelton, Huey Lewis & The News, Wayne Brady, Larry The Cable Guy, Tim Allen, Joe Nichols, Wynonna and the Big Noise.

Hong Kong Cantopop stars and television personalities have held concerts at Rama as part of a Toronto tour:^[5]

• Vivian Chow, 2013
• Elisa Chan & Maria Cordero, 2013
• Sandy Lam, 2013
• Raymond Lam, 2012
• Joey Yung, 2012
• Twins, 2011

Boxing and MMA[edit]

Casino Rama has hosted a number of live boxing events, titled Rumble at Rama. On April 2, 2011, Casino Rama hosted what was promoted as the first sanctioned mixed martial arts (MMA) event in Ontario, taking place 4 weeks before UFC 129 in Toronto.^[6][7] This was not entirely correct, as an MMA event was held in the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation 3 years prior, where Dan Severn defeated Ian Asham in the main event; 7 MMA events were staged before the event at Casino Rama.^[8]In July 2011, it hosted a Bellator Fighting Championships event.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Casino Rama scam busted'. Toronto Star, Paul Moloney, May 25, 2007
2. ^'Changes abound at Casino Rama'. Orillia Packet, By Gisele Winton Sarvis, November 28, 2013
3. ^ ^ab'Massive theft of Ontario’s Casino Rama data sparks proposed lawsuit'. Toronto Star, November 12, 2016. Colin Perkel
4. ^'Casino Rama to remain closed amid 2nd coronavirus wave'. Global News. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
5. ^[1]Archived March 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
6. ^'Ontario's First Sanctioned MMA Event Set for Saturday'. MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
7. ^'Sellout at Ontario's first sanctioned MMA show'. Tsn.ca. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
8. ^'Iroquois MMA Championships Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more'. Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-06-27.

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 44°38′50″N79°21′1″W / 44.64722°N 79.35028°W