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Caesars deal difficult because of variety and number of jobs, says prof

A professor at Western University in London who specializes in industrial relations said the size of the bargaining team and employee base for Caesars Windsor make it difficult to negotiate.

Western University labour professor Johanna Weststar has been watching the Caesars negotiations

CBC News ·
Caesars Windsor employees have been on strike for about seven weeks. (Chris Ensing/CBC)

The 2,300 unionized workers at Caesars Windsor are wrapping up their 7th week on strike.

Twice, they have voted down tentative agreements that were recommended by the bargaining committee of Unifor Local 444.

The sheer size of the bargaining unit and the variety of occupations involved are likely making it difficult for union leadership to get a deal their members like, according to Johanna Weststar, a professor at Western University in London who specializes in industrial relations. 

"If the work is different or the nature of work is different for different groups of workers, you need to cover a lot more ground," said Weststar. "That makes the collective agreement more complicated."

Hear more from Weststar on CBC's Windsor Morning: 

We expect striking workers to disagree with their employer, but striking workers at Caesars Windsor also disagree with each other. That was made clear when they rejected a second tentative contract agreement. What does it all mean? We ask Johanna Weststar an industrial relations expert and a professor at Western University in London. 6:06

She said it also makes it difficult to figure out what employees really want.

"It makes communication to the membership more complicated because you have many more issues to deal with, many more people to bring onside and many more people to sort of make sure that they are getting something that they need in the contract," she said. 

Weststar said this casino strike has been unusual.

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