Almost 900 workers at Pickering Casino Resort and Casino Ajax have gone on strike after contract talks didn’t result in what their union describes as “a fair deal.”
Members of Unifor Local 1090 officially left their posts at 12:01 a. m. on Friday, July 31. This strike includes various gaming staff, such as dealers, slot technicians, cashiers, coin workers, and player service representatives.
“These workers kept the resort running through difficult years, and all they are asking for is fair wages and job security,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne in a news release.
Pickering Casino Resort is a $500 million entertainment complex that opened in April 2023. It features a casino that spans 96,000 square feet with over 2,200 slot machines, a theatre and event venue with 2,500 seats, and a hotel with 275 rooms.
Casino Ajax has been around since it opened in 2006 and is one of Durham Region’s longest-running gaming facilities. The casino offers 500 slot machines and has brought significant revenue to the area; by 2022, the town had received over $100 million from it.
This isn’t the first time Ontario casino workers have faced labor disputes. In 2022, about 2,000 Unifor members across eight different casinos voted to support a strike regarding pension and benefits negotiations. Workers at both Pickering and Ajax casinos did go on strike for about a week before reaching an agreement.
The current labor action has also ignited discussions online, with some people saying traditional casinos are under more pressure due to the rapid rise of online gambling platforms.
You can now see workers marching along the picket line outside Pickering Casino Resort located at 888 Durham Live Ave.
Despite the ongoing strike, both Pickering Casino Resort and Casino Ajax have stated they will stay open to customers during this period according to pop-up notices on their websites.
