Guests at Caesars Windsor were required to leave their hotel suites earlier this week due to a collective bargaining agreement that stretched into the early hours of Friday morning. But both the casino and the union Unifor Local 444 say progress improved in the negotiations to reopen the gaming floor.
The negotiations were happening behind the scenes, with the public largely unaware the bargaining process was even underway. A strike deadline was set for midnight on Thursday, but both sides assured visitors that negotiations were continuing beyond the deadline.
Nevertheless the potential of a strike shut down the slots and table games by 8pm Thursday night, costing the casino a sizeable amount in revenue. But guests at the casino were also up in arms as many people were unaware of a potential strike when they checked into the Caesars Windsor hotel.
Hotel security began making the rounds Thursday evening by informing guests they were required to leave before the strike deadline. Some guests had only checked into the hotel earlier that morning, and were seemingly never told about the potential for a strike. Many people later complained that Caesars should have shut the doors entirely until negotiations were finished.
After forcing many guests out of the hotel, the casino continued its negotiations with the union well into the late hours of the night. But around 2am Friday morning, a tweet was posed to the official twitter account of Caesars Windsor announcing a deal has been reached.
“A tentative agreement has been reached. [Caesars Windsor] will reopen to the public at 9 am, Fri, April 4.”
Though the casino only lost a few hours of operations, guests can safely bet on some form of remuneration from the casino for the hassle.
