A high-ranking union official says Casino Rama has seen almost one-third of its workforce decimated by cuts over the past year.
Corey Dalton, the president of Unifor Local 1090, says prior to Woodbine Casino opening last year, there were about 1,700 unionized employees at Casino Rama.
After the “latest round” of layoffs in recent days, that number has plummeted to 1,200.
“Toronto is the major market when it comes to guests visiting Casino Rama,” said Dalton. “If you place a competitor in the catchment area of your largest market, naturally it’s going to (lead to) a significant decline in business.”
But Dalton also cites some “really bad business decisions” made by Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, the B.C.-based company that operates the casino on behalf of its owners, Rama First Nation and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
Dalton said Casino Rama has “cut services, further reduced hours of (its) restaurants and removed gaming tables” in recent months.
During a visit to Casino Rama Tuesday, Dalton said he noticed a whole “gaming floor pit of craps tables” had been removed in recent days. He estimates there are only about 85 table games at Casino Rama today.
The decisions have irked once-loyal patrons, Dalton said. He said it’s led to fewer people coming to the casino.
The changes and cuts have also led to an “absolutely toxic” work environment at the large gaming facility east of Orillia, Dalton noted.
And it’s not just union jobs being slashed.
“We watched (Tuesday) as they literally paraded supervisors out the door, one after the other,” said Dalton.
One casino employee estimated 40 supervisors lost their jobs.
Dalton said “almost the entire leadership team” that existed prior to Gateway taking over last summer has also “moved on.”
He said “it’s very telling and doesn’t send a good message to employees when they see their leadership jumping ship. It’s very unnerving,” said Dalton.
The way the layoffs were handled was also unnerving, he said.
“Many long-term, dedicated Casino Rama employees were faced with an inconceivable situation where members were expected to make a life-altering decision within a 15-minute window,” said Dalton, who described employees being called in on the weekend, on their day off, and “forced” to make a snap decision about a “potentially life-altering” move.
“This is completely unacceptable and shameful on Gateway.”
It’s why the local union has decided to take their fight to the next level.
The seven-member local workplace committee, Dalton and other Local 1090 officials have arranged a meeting in Thursday with national Unifor officials from the union’s legal, pensions and benefits, and media relations departments. A representative of national president Jerry Dias will attend the meeting in Kitchener.
“(Dias) is well aware of what’s going on here and he is monitoring the situation,” said Dalton. “I’m confident once we have our meeting Thursday that certainly Jerry could get involved.”
Dalton said Unifor represents more than 20,000 workers across canada - it’s the union’s fastest-growing sector.
“It’s an extraordinarily important sector to the union and to Jerry himself.”
Dalton said he couldn’t predict the results of the meeting. It could range from a public relations campaign, to visiting the company’s leadership in B.C., to other strategies.
He said he will also “engage with our lawyers to see if there’s any recourse” for the way some employees were dealt with. “We could look at a group grievance or a policy grievance. We’ll talk about that.”
While that is occurring, the employees at Casino Rama have to deal with the fallout.
Dalton said some departments have been cut in half as a result of recent layoffs.
The number of gaming technicians has been slashed from 24 to 12. It’s a similar scenario for slot attendants; eight full-time slot attendants have been cut.
This week, signs also went up alerting patrons that the valet parking service had been eliminated.
“One gentleman told me he already had a number of elderly guests come up and say they will not return because the valet service has been discontinued,” said Dalton.
Earlier this week, Robert Mitchell, the director of communications and public affairs for Gateway, explained the company's reasoning.
“The reasons for these staff adjustments were based on an analysis of our operations at Rama with the objective of maximizing their efficiency while providing the best customer experience possible,” Mitchell said.
“The reasons for these adjustments include reduced hours of operation at several of our restaurants, investments in new technology such as new security and surveillance systems, gaming management system and other basic business efficiencies,” he noted.
“A great deal of thought went into these decisions,” said Mitchell. “The health and welfare of our employees is a first priority for Gateway as it is for all our customers.”
