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Close to 700 unionized workers at four Okanagan Gateway casinos now on strike

More than 150 unionized employees who work at Cascades Casino in Penticton were in great spirits just minutes after walking off the job Friday afternoon at 3 p.m.

A total of 675 unionized members, who belong to the British Columbia Government Employees’ Union (BCGEU), walked off the job at four Okanagan casinos that are owned and operated by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Friday afternoon.

The other three affected casinos are Playtime Casino in Kelowna. Lake City Casino in Vernon and Cascades Casino in Kamloops.

<who>Photo Credit: PentictonNow </who>More than 150 unionized workers at Cascades Casino in Penticton initiated strike action at 3 p.m. Friday. Close to 700 unionized workers at four Gateway casino operations in the Okanagan Valley are now on strike as the union demands higher pay and better benefits.

Dozens of unionized employees at Cascades Casino in Penticton were carrying signs and waving flags and smiled as passing cars and trucks honked their horns showing solidarity with the striking workers.

Many of the signs carried the words, ‘No More Games’, and ‘We Deserve a Fair Working Wage’.

BCGEU union steward Candie Diffin said the union represents 160 employees in Penticton and she estimated close to 80 percent of them were on the picket line when the strike officially began at 3 p.m.

<who>Photo Credit: PentictonNow </who>Spirits were high for the 160 or so unionized employees as Cascades Casino in Penticton when they hit the picket lines at 3 p.m. Friday.

The labour dispute boils down to unionized workers demanding better pay and benefits, said Diffin, who has been working for Gateway Casinos for the past 18 years.

“We are trying to get a living wage,” she said. “We haven’t had any kind of substantial wage increase … we’re living at minimum wage basically.

“We’re also trying to get an increase in certain benefits as well. It’s primarily because minimum wage has increased across B.C. and this has left us behind.

“We have a lot of people who have worked here for 10 years now and are still at minimum wage.”

A strike vote at the four Okanagan casinos was held in late May and close to 90 percent of unionized workers cast ballots and more than 93 percent were in favour of strike action, she said.

The union gave the provincial government 72-hour notice on Monday that they would be commencing strike action on Friday after mediated talks between Gateway management and the union broke Monday, said Diffin.

“I don’t think they recognize us as valuable employees,” she said. “I seriously don’t. They think we’re just numbers. They have managed to grow as a company because of us. We’re the ones that are there rating the experience for the guests that come.

<who>Photo Credit: PentictonNow

“It’s been like this for a long time. I’ve been with the casino for 18 years.”

The union members are determined to hit the picket lines for as long as it takes to get a fair deal where they can make an honest living, she said.

“There’s a real sense of solildarity for all four sites,” she said. “I think that the message we are sending is that we want to be appreciated.

“We want and deserve to have a living wage. So many of our people here live paycheque to paycheque. They can’t even make ends meet and struggle payday to payday.”

<who>Photo Credit: PentictonNow

A large majority of the union members have to find a second job just to pay their bills and put food on the table and that’s not acceptable for a company like Cascades that is raking in huge profits, she said.

“I know a lot of us who work two jobs and some three jobs,” she said. “Another thing too is there’s not the hours here that we were promised. It was projected there was supposed to be (full-time) hours and overtime, but most people can’t even get the medical benefits, which kick in after 30 hours per week. They’re just not getting the shifts.

“They’ve cut the shifts, especially in the winter when the hours really go down.”

<who>Photo Credit: PentictonNow

There are “tons of jobs” across the Okanagan Valley that pay better wages than what the striking workers make and every arrangement will be made to allow them to perform picket duty if they find other employment as the strike continues, she said.

“We’ve told people we will work around whatever other job they are able to grab … so they can do their picket duty as well.”

When asked if she’s worried the union might lose members because they find better paying jobs, Diffin said she’s not concerned at all.

<who>Photo Credit: PentictonNow

“I think it’s more a case the owners need to be worried they’re going to lose employees,” she said. “They have to treat them fairly and they have to pay them. This has to be the place in town that everybody wants to work.

“Inititally when we first opened, we were the place. There aren’t a lot of employable people in Penticton and we’re running out of good employees. They can’t even man the upper floor and the main floor at the same time because they just don’t have the staff.”

Diffin said the only other time she was on strike was soon after she started with Cascades Casino back in 2001.

“We went out for nine weeks,” she said.

Tanya Gabara, director of public relations for Gateway Casinos, issued a news release late Friday afternoon, saying it’s upsetting the strike action is now underway.

<who>Photo Credit: PentictonNow

“It is unfortunate that the union has decided to go on strike,” she said. “There was agreement on several key issues at mediation but just before we expected to discuss wages the union left mediation.

“We hope that the employees who disagree with a strike make it clear to the union that they don’t want a strike. We remain committed to having respectful discussions with the union to achieve a mutually agreeable contract that is reasonable and responsible.

“The union can't guarantee any result from a strike and in the end we still must come to the bargaining table to reach an agreement.”

Hard Rock Casino in Coquitlam has been on strike since May 11 and they still do not have a deal finalized, she said.

Caesars Windsor employees went on strike for two months and achieved essentially the same deal that they rejected in April, she said.

“Given this, it is unfortunate that the union has been unwilling to be more reasonable,” said Gabara. “We remain open to going back to mediation. We want to get back to the bargaining table to have discussions that would see us find a more reasonable offer to the unions initial demand of a shocking 62 percent average increase in wages with some positions increasing over 80 percent on top of significant increases to benefits.

"As you might expect, proposing a 60 to 80 percent wage increase is not reasonable for any business."

<who>Photo Credit: Facebook Playtime Casino Kelowna

“We will be operating the casino during the strike. We have committed to the union that we will respect the picket line and we expect that the union and all picketers will respect the right for people to enter the casino without harassment.

“We know a strike, particularly a long one, is a losing situation for almost everyone involved. Employees lose pay and tips and the company loses business. Only the union leaders continue to be paid normally.

“To our customers, we remain open for business and hope you will come visit us soon.”

“Gateway workers in the Okanagan are sending a clear message to their employer that they will not settle for less than fair wages, benefits and the respect they deserve,” said British Columbia Government Employees’ Union (BCGEU) president Stephanie Smith, in a news release. “These worker are the heart of their casinos. Gateway is a successful company in a highly profitable industry and they can afford to pay their workers what they are worth.”

BCGEU members work as slot attendants, cashiers, kitchen, security, guest services, maintenance and at gaming tables.



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