The president of the British Columbia Government Employees’ Union (BCGEU) and management with Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd. have agreed to mediated talks later this week.
A rally in downtown Vancouver took place during the lunch hour Monday as more than 100 striking employees from Hard Rock Casino in Vancouver attempted to present a petition to officials with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.
An hour after that rally wrapped up early Monday afternoon, Stephanie Smith, president of the BCGEU, told PentictonNow that her union and Gateway management have agreed to resume talks with the help of a provincial mediator before the end of this week to avoid possible strike action at Gateway casinos in Penticton, Kelowna, Kamloops and Vernon.
Smith would only say both sides have agreed to mediation, but didn’t know the location or exact day when talks would resume.
In an earlier interview Monday, Smith said close to 700 unionized workers at the four Okanagan casinos could possibly be hitting the picket line later this week.
Close to 400 unionized workers at Hard Rock Casino in Vancouver have been on strike since May 11 and talks to secure a new collective agreement for the four Okanagan casinos broke off soon after that.
Talks relating to the four Okanagan casinos started back in early January, said Smith.
Last Friday, the BCGEU announced that more than 80 percent of the 700 unionized workers at the four Okanagan casinos cast ballots and just over 93 percent voted in favour of strike action.
Gateway is a “very profitable” business that has so far refused union demands to share more of those profits with their employees, who play such a significant role in obtaining those profits, said Smith.
Until the announcement that mediated talks would be resuming, Smith said the union was leaning towards issuance of 72-hour notice to the provincial Labour Relations Board, which would allow unionized workers to hit the picket lines in a legal strike position before the end of this week.
The vast majority of the 700 members at the four Okanagan casinos make minimum wage or slightly above minimum wage, said Smith.
Until talks broke off almost one month ago, the best offer by Gateway management was a wage increase “less than what the provincial NDP government had guaranteed in its minimum wage increase, which is simply not acceptable,” said Smith.
The offer was so bad that it brought union brothers and sisters closer together than they’ve ever been before, she said.
“Pardon the pun, but I think Gateway gambled on a lack of solidarity amongst our membership, but the exact opposite has happened,” she said. “I know that our people have rallied together and are saying collectively that enough is enough and we’re not going to take this any more.
“We believe our workers deserve to be compensated fairly as they play a significant role in the significant profits Gateway enjoys. They want a fair and decent wage for doing a good job and be assured they can make ends meet without having to work two or three jobs.”
PentictonNow has tried to contact Gateway Casinos & Entertainment’s media relations department, but has been unsuccessful.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
Smith is the first woman elected president of the BCGEU, which represents 73,000 members at 550 different employers and B.C. government ministries.
Prior to being elected BCGEU president, Smith served three years as BCGEU treasurer.
