Union members in Detroit ratify contract with MGM Grand

(Reuters) - Union members with the Detroit Casino Council have voted to ratify a new contract with MGM Grand Detroit, operated by MGM Resorts, the Unite Here union said on Saturday.

The unions will end the 47-day strike immediately, Unite Here said in a statement, adding that the agreement covers 1,700 employees.

The Detroit Casino Council reached a tentative agreement on Nov. 17 for a new contract covering 3,700 workers at MGM Grand, Hollywood Casino at Greektown, operated by Penn Entertainment and MotorCity Casino.

Union members at Hollywood Casino at Greektown and MotorCity Casino voted to ratify the new contract, ending a 34-day strike, but MGM Grand workers had not.

"We’re glad our DCC-represented employees voted tonight to ratify the 64-month contract and end the strike, allowing us to immediately resume full and normal operations at MGM Grand Detroit," MGM said in a statement to Reuters.

The workers will receive an immediate $3 an hour raise along with $5 an hour total raises over the life of the contact, Unite Here said.

The newly-ratified contract with MGM gives casino workers the largest pay increase ever negotiated, does not add to their health care costs, provides workload reductions and other job protections, first-ever technology contract language and retirement increases among other benefits, the union said.

Detroit Casino Council is composed of five unions, including Unite Here Local 24, United Auto Workers (UAW), Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters.

(Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis)