BCGEU workers agree to contract offer from Hard Rock Casino Vancouver

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      A bitter labour dispute has ended at a gambling facility in Coquitlam.

      This morning, the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union announced that more than 400 members have voted in favour of their first collective agreement at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver.

      It came after a strike lasting more than 10 weeks.

      The terms were not disclosed in a BCGEU news release.

      "BCGEU members at the Hard Rock casino stuck together through a long, tough fight and thanks to their strength and solidarity and the support of the labour movement and the community they now have a collective agreement that sets a new standard for casino workers in B.C.,” BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said in the release.

      Earlier this month, BCGEU members rejected a tentative agreement at Hard Rock Casino Vancouver.

      The facility's parent company is Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which also owns the River Rock Casino and Hastings Racecourse & Casino.

      Last September, the BCGEU negotiated a four-year agreement for members at the River Rock Casino. According to a union news release, this first contract for River Rock workers provided an average 19 percent wage hike.

      Three days after that deal was ratified, Attorney General David Eby appointed former senior Mountie Peter German to review money laundering in B.C. casinos.

      The German report was released on June 27 while Hard Rock Casino Vancouver workers were on strike.

      At a news conference held by Eby and German that day, video was released showing people bringing bags of cash into the River Rock Casino.

      The BCGEU has long been one of the largest contributors to the B.C. NDP.

      Between January 1, 2017 and provincial election day on May 9, 2017, the union donated $261,153 to the governing party.

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