According to the UAW, a near-unanimous 99% of members voted to strike if a deal wasn't reached. The casinos affected initially were the MGM Grand Detroit, Hollywood Casino at Greektown, and MotorCity Casino Hotel. MGM and Penn announced that their casinos would remain open. The strike officially began on October 17, 2023, after a deal could not be reached. The UAW released a statement on their website outlining that the final proposals before the strike deadline failed to alleviate their concerns on healthcare, job security, wage increases, high workloads, and retirement value improvement.

The company previously offered five other proposals. MGM argued that the deal that it had offered the DCC workers included the largest single pay increase in the history of the MGM Grand Detroit.

Casino worker representatives also stated that due to the casino industry struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of workers who have left the industry, existing workers took up a larger load of work for the smaller pay previously. The DCC demanded a higher wage which kept up with the pace of inflation, which since 2021 has experienced a global surge. The DCC is a group of labor organizations which is made up of five organizations: UNITE HERE Local 24, the United Auto Workers (UAW), Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, and represents 3,700 casino employees. The strike lasted 47 days for MGM and 34 for Penn Entertainment and ended after a contract was ratified between the DCC and both MGM and Penn. Casino workers in Michigan's largest city, represented by the Detroit Casino Council (DCC), failed to reach a labor contract. On October 17, 2023, casino workers in Detroit began a strike against MGM Resorts International, operator of the MGM Grand Detroit, and Penn Entertainment, which runs the MotorCity Casino Hotel and Hollywood Casino at Greektown. 2023 labor dispute involving Detroit casino workers and two US gambling companies

Florida casino workers strike history