Niagara Casino Workers - Questions and Answers
Q. What can I expect at the vote?
A. The vote is conducted and supervised by officials from the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The scheduled vote times and locations will be posted in your workplace in advance.
At the vote location, you will be given a ballot once your name is verified on the list and you will then cast your vote in a private location (similar to a government conducted election). No one will ever know how you voted. That's the law.
Q. Will I still get my bonus?
A. Under law, once the union applies for certification all work conditions are held in place (and will not be changed) until we conclude the bargaining process. The Ontario Labour Relations Board calls this the "freeze provision" and it's spelled out in Section 86 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act. This provision ensures that your current wages and working conditions (as of April 14th, 2010) are the foundation upon which we begin bargaining. You should know that the freeze provision protects the 30-cent wage increase that you just received and the recently announced $1000 bonus.
Once you have a union, any changes to your working conditions are subject to approval by you and your coworkers. In other words, you get the final say!
Q. Management previously released information stating that "Niagara Casinos' permanent (full time and part time) associates received comparable time off benefits to their unionized counterparts, without union dues" is this true?
A Your Employer has attempted to follow the gains that CAW has bargained for workers in the gaming industry. However, at present, Niagara Casino workers can have their benefits (and their jobs) reduced without any prior notice. The terms and conditions of your Employee Handbook are subject to change at the whim of your employer.
Q. Management previously stated that "Niagara Casinos has never laid off any Hourly Associates. In the past 2 years CAW members have experienced 3538 lay-offs and 7,779 job losses" is this true?
A. The management at Niagara Casinos is trying to equate unionization with job loss, but the reality is non-unionized workers are laid off every day, you just don't hear about it because they have no one to speak publicly on their behalf. It's no secret that some of our members have faced job loss as a result of this global economic crisis. That is why our union continues to lobby government and negotiate with employers to protect jobs and minimize the impact that this recession will have on workers.
Perhaps Niagara Casino management hasn't laid any one off, but they have terminated workers and decided not to renew contracts. In fact over 150 Niagara Casino workers have lost their jobs in the last 4 months.
Q. Management previously stated that "a collective agreement does not guarantee jobs" is this true?
A. The truth is without a union contract, nothing is guaranteed or protected. When you have a collective agreement, you have the security of knowing that there is a process for job postings, lay-offs and recalls. Knowing the rules and having rights for recall will allow you to plan for the future, make choices and support your family.
Q. Management previously released information stating that "we're not saying unionization will lead to a strike, but every CAW represented Casino worksite in Ontario has been on strike" is this true?
A. The CAW has had strikes in the gaming sector and our members secured a number of gains as a result of these actions. However you should know that 97% of CAW collective agreements are settled without strike action and that a strike cannot occur unless the majority of the workers vote in favour.
Free trade with the European Union is a bad idea for Canada
The Harper government's relentless push to sign a new Canada-EU free trade deal would undermine the rights of federal, provincial and municipal governments to manage public spending over goods and services; it would privatize public services like drinking water, prevent us from adopting strong measures to combat climate change and wipe out up to 150,000 Canadian jobs, among a long list of additional concerns. CAW President Ken Lewenza says:
So far, all signs point to a free trade deal that is lopsided, unfair and would do more harm than good to Canadians. 
