Caesars’ Horseshoe Casino Baltimore employees secure new contract with pay raises
After five months of negotiations, unionized employees at Horseshoe Casino Baltimore have secured a new contract that includes raises, paid holidays, and a lower health insurance payments rate. The contract will be in effect until October 2025 and covers approximately 500 workers.
According to Tracy Lingo, the staff director for Unite Here Local 7, under the new agreement, tipped workers’ pay will increase by 40 cents to $2.20 per hour depending on their previous wage. Lingo was part of a coalition bargain between Unite Here Local 7, United Auto Workers, Teamsters, the International Union of Operating Engineers, and the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees.
Lingo added that most raises were around $1.50 to $2 an hour, with non-tipped workers also receiving yearly raises of 80 cents an hour through 2025. The workers will also have eight paid holidays, which she described as a “big improvement,” as there was originally no additional compensation for working on holidays, as reported by Baltimore Business Journal.
Lingo added that all employees will now pay the same, lower rate for health insurance as opposed to a previous two-tiered system that saw workers with higher wages pay a higher rate. According to Lingo, the contract is “a really significant settlement” and a “good bar to set for the rest of the industry.”
Casino workers were asking Caesars Entertainment, the casino’s owner, for paid holidays and wage increases to align with other unionized hospitality companies in Baltimore. Before the contract was finalized, the Baltimore casino’s lowest-paid, non-tipped workers made $14.67 an hour and had not received a raise since October 2021, according to Unite Here Local 7.
Caesars Entertainment also signed a four-year union contract last year with its Atlantic City employees that included raises and paid holidays, according to Unite Here Local 7. The negotiations for more pay and better benefits came amid Caesars reporting its “strongest” third quarter last year in regional casinos outside of Las Vegas. According to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission, the casino made nearly $210 million in casino gaming revenue and millions more in retail sports wagering in 2022.