The union representing Casino Rama employees will continue to fight in the face of layoffs and cutbacks.
That’s the message Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor, told dozens gathered at a rally Thursday at Tudhope Park.
“We will do everything we can to make sure we stop this economic carnage,” Dias said during what the union dubbed the “#NoJobsNoDice solidarity rally.”
He said the writing was on the wall for members of Unifor Local 1090 when the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced its modernization plan.
Ontario’s auditor general was critical of the plan and reported OLG knew there would be 1,000 fewer casino jobs in the province as a result of privatization, Dias said to cries of “shame” from the crowd.
“The predicament we’re in today was predetermined,” he said, adding, “when the right” says modernization is on the way, “we know we’re going to get it.”
Thursday’s rally comes after Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, which operates Casino Rama, laid off 65 full-time unionized employees last month. In addition, union estimates put the number of job losses, including non-union positions and employees who accepted buyouts, at more than 150.
“Those that are left are being negatively impacted as well,” Dias said, noting many have to pick up the slack from a reduced workforce.
Alex Ford said he knows the feeling. The union steward has worked at Casino Rama for about two-and-a-half years, and he said employees are feeling “uneasy.”
“It pretty much started a few months before Gateway took over. Since then, it’s gone downhill,” he said, noting the layoffs “came as quite a shock to a lot of people.”
Dias had a message for Gateway: Recall laid-off staff members. Whether that will happen remains to be seen. Following the rally, Dias told OrilliaMatters he had met with Gateway officials earlier this week in Toronto, where he shared the union’s concerns and recommendations.
He is also urging the province and OLG to “be more transparent” when it comes to modernization planning by providing accurate information on job losses and other cuts.
Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton addressed the crowd Thursday and said he would stand with the employees “every step of the way.”
“I come from a background in the hospitality business and I know what it takes to keep customers coming back,” he said, adding Casino Rama employees do, too.
Casino Rama is “world class” and the onus is on Gateway to ensure that reputation continues, he said.
Orillia will feel the effect of the job losses, Coun. Ralph Cipolla told the crowd.
“Your jobs are an economic driver to the City of Orillia,” he said. “Without you, our economy goes — I won’t say the word, but it goes down.”
Asked what the union’s next steps are, Dias said it depends on Gateway’s response to the issues raised during their meeting this week.
