International casino and entertainment company offering online sports betting and iGaming solutions Bally’s Corporation has sealed a labor neutrality deal with the 10th largest union in the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO), the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). The latter counts around 400,000 active members spread across 123 local unions in the US and Canada.
The agreement concerns Bally’s Tropicana property in Las Vegas, and it would allow both parties to adopt a neutral approach when organizing campaigns that will allow all Tropicana Las Vegas staff members to make informed decisions when choosing their union representatives.
Bally’s, Eager to Keep Fostering Its Relationship with IUOE
Bally’s chairman Soo Kim spoke about its employees as its “most valuable asset,” explaining the corporation’s effort to make sure that they maintain their rights to select who should represent them legally. Kim also spoke about their “established track record of building positive relationships with organized labor” while expressing their interest in fostering their ties with IUOE in the future.
At the same time, IUOE Local 501’s organizing director Jose Soto spoke about the way Bally’s and IUOE were “aligned” in their joint efforts to promote employee representation at a local level locally as well as at a national level. This relationship, Soto explained, was based on the proof of integrity and commitment shown by Kim and his crew.
More Growth at the Horizon
At the moment, Bally’s is the owner and manager of 15 casinos located in 10 US states, a horse racetrack in Colorado, global online gaming operator Bally’s Interactive International, first-in-class sports betting platform Bally Bet, and promising iCasino platform Bally Casino. Bally’s also has access to OSB licenses in 18 different states and a total of 10,500 employees responsible for managing and overseeing 500 table games, 15,000 slot machines, and 5,300 hotel rooms.
Bally’s also sealed a multi-project labor deal with the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council as well as the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department. The new agreement would allow the New York Stock Exchange-listed company to build a temporary flagship casino in Chicago, raising the number of total casinos owned by the company to 16. At the start of the month, Bally’s representatives met with a number of local business representatives and locals in Chicago to discuss concerns regarding parking spaces and future job opportunities.
Bally’s also expressed its intention to build a brick-and-mortar casino next to the Nittany Mall in State College, Pennsylvania, turning the number of casinos up to 17. At the end of March, Bally’s Corporation announced plans to build an integrated resort in Fukuoka, Japan.