City says municipal services not affected by lost revenue from Caesars strike
There will be no affect on funds given to municipal services due to the ongoing Caesars Windsor strike, according to the City of Windsor.
"Absolutely, we've been paying attention to it," city treasurer Joe Mancina said.
The City of Windsor has budgeted $10.3 million from revenue produced by Caesars Windsor — nearly 1.2 per cent of the the city's overall budget.
"Certainly, where there's variances we build in a contingency in our budget each year of approximately $1.5 million for those, sort of, unforeseen circumstances that may negatively impact the budget," said Mancina.
'Unforeseen circumstance'
Last Friday, about 53 per cent of casino employees voted 'no' to their latest tentative agreement. In April, 59 per cent voted to reject the deal presented to them.
Mancina said expenses for municipal services will not decrease due to lost revenue from the strike.
"We have fixed costs for providing the type of services that are required. And so, as a result, you're not able to readily reduce those services because of a temporary reduction in the volumes of traffic and folks coming in [to the casino]."
In 2017, the budget for Caesars Windsor resulted in a surplus of revenue for the city. Mancina said the budget was increased by about $850,000.
"The $10.3 million that we set up for 2018 was a result of seeing some increased gaming revenue and sharing with the municipality last year."
Labour council weighing in
While the city is trying to maintain their standard operations during the strike, the Windsor District Labour Council is trying to find an end.
"The problem must be ... that management are not listening to their workers about how things can be better," president Brian Hogan said.
Hogan applauds Windsor's NDP representatives for being so vocal during the Caesars strike, but said the Wynne government has been very quiet.
"This is a government facility. Get your top-notch conciliators, arbitrators — get them working around the clock."
Unifor Local 444 has asked for Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens to be "more visible" during the strike — a request Hogan agrees with.
"We want to see our mayor talking to all three parties — the union, Caesars and Wynne's government on a daily basis. Let's go. Let's get this thing moving."
