Contact talks opened Friday between Caesars Windsor and the union representing its employees.
Leaders from Unifor Local 444, which represents the workers, met for conciliation talks with company executives.
Both sides are looking to reach a new deal before the current one expires April, 2 at 11:59 p.m. The current agreement was set to expire in 2021 but it was extended another year.
Dave Cassidy, President of Unifor Local 444, says they currently have just under 1,000 employees back to work and as many off work still as a result of restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic.
He says wages and benefits are the key issues in contract talks.
"We can tell you the one thing this bargaining committee has done, we have every single proposal that every member put in, it is in our proposals to give to the company," he says. "Doesn't mean we're going to get there on every one, but I can tell you there will be no stone that hasn't been unturned."
During the last contract negotiations in 2018, workers at the casino were on strike for 60 days before a deal was finally ratified.
Cassidy says the membership decides if there is a strike.
"We will not leave a dime on the table, we will bring back the best agreement to the membership and ultimately the membership decides that," says Cassidy. "So when we get to the end of the talks, we'll see where that goes."
During numerous times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the casino was either closed or had strict limits of visitors during the provincial restrictions on capacity limits aimed at preventing the spread of the virus.
Both the union and the casino have been lobbying the government to get pandemic restrictions eased sooner, and they were able to extend their current contract and negotiate an extension of benefits for furloughed staff.
Kevin Laforet, Regional President for Caesars Windsor and bargaining chair, says he thinks one of the silver linings out of the pandemic is a better working relationship between Unifor, Dave Cassidy and himself.
"We worked together, a lot of employees through not fault of their own have been impacted by this," says Laforet. "We've extended the benefits for those that are laid off. So hopefully both bargaining teams will be able to find a result."
Laforet calls the last two years difficult and says the losses to the casino would be tens of millions of dollars.
"It's (the casino and concert venue) a large facility," he says. "When it closed, it still costs a ton of money. We have baseline staff. As I've said we're paying benefits of staff that are on furlough which I believe is the right thing to do, but those are all expensive."
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Unifor represented 2,200 workers at the casino.
— with files from AM800's Rob Hindi