DETROIT (WXYZ) — Striking casino workers could be marking their last day on the picket lines with a tentative deal now on the table.
Thursday night the Detroit Casino Council and MGM Grand Casino struck a deal after workers spent 42 days on the picket line.
The deal includes an immediate $3 an hour raise, then an additional $0.50 an hour in 2025 and 2026, and a $1.00 an hour raise in the fifth year of the contract.
Negotiators also secured a one-time $2,000 bonus for full-time workers and a $1,000 bonus for part-time workers. The tentative deal is the second deal offered by MGM after workers rejected the previous deal in November.
"It's been an emotional roller coaster. You have to realize this is the first time we've ever done this," said long-time casino worker Alicia Weaver.
Weaver was a part of the team of workers who helped to broker the deal.
"I think we spoke loud and clear. I'm on the negotiation committee and I've always stressed to everybody that the vote is the vote and you have to respect the vote and when the people say they want more you have to go back to the table, roll your sleeves up and make something happen," said Weaver.
Friday workers remained on the picket line near 3rd Avenue and Bagley Avenue.
"My biggest thing was our insurance and also being a single individual woman, I own my own house and everything, being able to afford everything that I have is always great," said Danielle Sirdan who has worked for the casino for the last 7 years.
Sirdan says she's hopeful the deal will go through.
"This labor movement is historic. It has been very inspirational to me. This shows us little people though we might not feel like we make that big of a difference, we all walked out of here. We showed them we’re worth more and we got the contract that we deserve," said Sirdan.
Meantime, some workers say they still believe negotiators could get more.
"I voted no for the last one. I'm voting no tomorrow and as long as they will not offer us anything else, I'm going to continue to vote no," said Catherine Bilek-Roberts who has worked for the casino for 24 years.
Bilek-Roberts says she'd hoped the casino would have offered a $5 an hour raise immediately upon ratification with small increases in the years to follow.
"We came back in the middle of a pandemic. Some people got sick, some people died and they don't appreciate us. We deserve more than what we're getting," said Bilek-Roberts.
What happens next is now up to workers. A ratification vote is scheduled for Saturday. Negotiators say if the deal is ratified, they will have to decide what day workers will return to the job.
"We can go back into this building with our heads held high and we can continue to do the great job we've been doing," said Weaver. " I think we have re-energized the labor movement across the country because I think all across the country all the workers have been saying the same thing and corporate America needs to listen."
