The president of Unifor Local 444 is calling on Windsor’s mayor to help end the Caesars Windsor strike.
James Stewart and officers of the union spoke at strike headquarters on Tuesday.
He’s asking mayor Drew Dilkens to get involved.
Secretary-treasurer Dave Cassidy also called out the mayor, saying he needs to have a conversation with Kevin Laforet, regional president of Caesars Entertainment.
“Through the media, I send a message of solidarity from our brothers and sisters, who on earth, in this year have to wait in their cars for two days in order to get prime time-off to be with their families,” says Cassidy.
Mayor Drew Dilkens tells CTV News he has not had any contact from the union.
“They haven't reached out asking for my assistance but let me just say if both parties think that I can play a role to help resolve the issue to help bring people together, I'm more than happy to do that.”
Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Percy Hatfield urged the Liberal government in the legislature on Tuesday to step in since he claims the economy has lost millions of dollars.
“This government has an obligation to the taxpayers as well as the men and women on the picket line to do more and work harder to apply pressure on Caesars to return to the bargaining table and hammer out a settlement,” said Hatfield.
Labour Minister Kevin Flynn replied by saying they have some of the best mediators that are working on the issue. Flynn also urged both sides to come back to the table.
Stewart also discussed issues with the strike and the recent announcement of additional show delays and hotel reservation cancellations.
Stewart says he’s disappointed for not returning to the bargaining table.
“When we reach out to them and their response is a Facebook message saying they are closing for the rest of May,” says Stewart. “Listen you can call that respect but it's not.”
On Monday Caesars Windsor announced it is postponing three more concerts and cancelling hotel reservations until the end of May.
Postponed shows include Pitbull (May 25), Lee Brice (May 26) and Daniel O’Donnell (May 27).
About 2,300 unionized employees have been on strike since April 5 after 59 per cent of employees rejected a three-year tentative agreement that included a nine per cent wage hike, a signing bonus and an improved pension.
The union says they are fighting for improved wages and respect.
Dave Cassidy @LOCAL444UNIFOR sends message to Kevin Laforet @CaesarsWindsor during this morning’s rally. @CTVWindsor at 6 pic.twitter.com/ZkND9S8Hrt
— Bob BellaciccoCTV (@BBellaciccoCTV) May 8, 2018