Strike Over at Sudbury Downs - Members Win on Key Issues (8/17/07)

For two weeks, members stayed off the job and kept patrons informed of the strike and company's refusal to bargain in good faith.

After standing fast on the picket lines for two weeks, RWDSU members who work at Sudbury Downs in Ontario, Canada, have voted to end their strike and ratify a new 4-year contract. The new agreement successfully addresses issues that had prompted the 60 employees to go on strike and disrupt business at the racetrack and slot machine casino.

"Nobody wants to go on strike, but we felt we were left with no choice but to stop working until the company would bargain with us fairly," said Sherry Lorraine, who has worked at Sudbury Downs for over 2 years as a server in the casino.

Over the course of the strike, the members never wavered in their determination to get a contract that protected their benefits and their rights.

"Morale was always strong on the picket line, and it brought us together in a way that none of us expected. There are different departments here and many of us didn't even know each others' names. But after two weeks of standing shoulder to shoulder to win a fair contract, now we are like a family," Lorraine said.

The new contract protects 100 percent of the members' health care benefits, and also establishes seniority-based scheduling and call-in procedures.

"These two issues were the main reasons for the strike," RWDSU Northern Joint Council President Derik McArthur said. "The company wouldn't budge on the benefits or seniority. But after they saw that the members were going to stand their ground and were dead serious about these issues, they knew they had to come back to the bargaining table and make some changes."

The new contract also provides wage increases and improvements in the uniform allowance and licensing fees rebates.

"We are very excited to be back on the job with a contract that satisfied our main concerns," Lorraine said. "We had the strength to force the company to re-evaluate its position on these important issues, and it's really satisfying for us to return to work with a fair contract that we won together."