Springfield council committee advances resolution urging MGM to bargain with dealers' union

Councilor Curran convened a subcommittee meeting of the Springfield City Council Economic Development Committee where unionized dealers at MGM Springfield and supporters urged the committee to advance a nonbinding resolution asking MGM to negotiate with the dealers' union after the membership won a union election in March 2024, union representatives said.

The resolution, which the committee voted to move to the full City Council agenda, urges MGM to sit down with the union and begin collective bargaining. Committee members said they will take a formal roll-call vote on the resolution at the city council meeting scheduled for May 12 and that councilors may cosponsor the measure.

Why it matters: MGM Springfield operates under a host community agreement with Springfield and is a major local employer; union representatives told the committee they see stalled bargaining as a legal violation and as a breach of promises made to the city during the casino’s approval process.

Union leaders told the committee the dealers won an NLRB election on March 9, 2024, and that MGM has appealed that certification decision at least three times. “They have won the election, and MGM has appealed it three times, lost three times because it is a done deal,” Laurie Andrews, president of Local 301 at MGM Springfield, said at the hearing. Chelsea, a union representative, summarized the union’s view of the federal process: “The dealers won their certification…the employer is required to sit down, at the table and negotiate. And MGM has yet to do this, in clear violation of the law.”

Dealers described working conditions and pay that they say they want addressed at the bargaining table, including scheduling, progressive discipline and health-insurance cost increases. Rick Banks, a dealer at MGM Springfield, said the organizing vote occurred “14 months ago” and that employees are “frustrated” by MGM’s refusal to meet. Union speakers told the committee that dealer hourly base pay at the property is low (one speaker reported $7.38 per hour) and that tip pools (toke pools) make a large portion of dealers’ earnings; union witnesses said average daily toke pools currently equate to roughly $26 per dealer on a typical day, down from a peak of $30–$40 per hour during busier periods in 2022.

Former Mayor Michael Albano and other elected officials spoke in support of the resolution. Albano criticized MGM management’s refusal to bargain and noted public expectations from the casino’s approval process. “I’ve never seen an employer in Western Massachusetts history refuse to bargain with a recognized union,” Albano said, adding that MGM executives had promised a pro-union stance during the casino referendum.

Union supporters described outside actions and allied labor support, saying the teachers’ union, Teamsters and the New England Joint Board have shown solidarity and delivered petitions urging MGM to negotiate. Chelsea told the committee that the union had offered alternative dispute-resolution options but that MGM “fullheartedly declined.”

Committee discussion focused on signaling and next steps rather than creating a binding legal remedy. Councilor Curran said the resolution is nonbinding but that a unanimous committee recommendation and the mayor’s signature would send a “pretty good signal” to MGM. The committee agreed to move the resolution to the full council agenda and to request a roll-call vote so that working families can see how each councilor votes.

What the committee did and did not do: The committee held an informational hearing, heard testimony from union members, supporters and elected officials, and by informal voice vote moved the nonbinding resolution to the City Council agenda for a formal vote on May 12. The committee did not impose sanctions or adopt a binding contract or ordinance; union representatives said their legal recourse rests with the National Labor Relations Board and related federal processes.

The committee hearing included questions from councilors about the scope of bargaining demands and the status of other unions at the property; union witnesses identified multiple unions at MGM Springfield (including Local 301 and the Teamsters) and said a few departments remain nonunionized. Several councilors and union speakers urged MGM to begin bargaining promptly and asked that the city, through the resolution, publicly press MGM to do so.