Bally’s reaches labour agreement for Chicago casino

The firm has signed a Multi-Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with trades bodies.

US.- Bally’s Corporation has announced that it has signed a Multi-Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council (CCBT) and the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department for the construction of its Bally’s Chicago casino.

The company plans to launch a temporary casino in the summer of 2023 and a permanent site in late 2025 or early 2026. The City Council approved the casino in a 41-7 vote in May. The project is expected to create 3,000 construction jobs per year, in addition to 3,000 permanent casino roles when fully functional.

Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said: “At Bally’s, we believe our company should reflect the community. This PLA is a demonstration of our commitment to embrace organized labor that has played such a key role in building the great city of Chicago. This is the first step of a project that will be built by Chicago, for Chicago, and help the city keep its promises to the police and fire pensions.

“We are also committed to inclusivity and our partnerships with the CCBT, Chicago Federation of Labor, and Hire360 will ensure our workforce will reflect the rich diversity of the city.”

CCBT president Michael Macellaio added: “BCTC is proud to stand with Bally’s Chicago in this historic building of the first and only casino in the City of Chicago. With this agreement, Bally’s shows that it understands the importance of good-paying jobs in our city and the dignity of our hard-working people.”

Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, commented: “We appreciate that Bally’s holds itself to a higher standard when it comes to employment,” said. “Our mission is to strengthen the participation of underrepresented populations—with a special focus on engaging youth to consider the trades as a viable and inspiring career path—and Bally’s has proven to take that very seriously.”

Recently, Lori Lightfoot announced the creation of an advisory council to keep residents informed and gather community input for Bally’s project. The Casino Community Advisory Council (CAC) will serve as a channel for community input and includes residents, and community groups and experts on a range of topics.

In May, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot confirmed that Bally’s Corporation was selected to build and operate Chicago’s first casino. The announcement came only two days after Lightfoot denied reports that the city had chosen Bally’s proposal as the winning bid. The other finalists were Rush Street Gaming and Hard Rock.

Bally’s proposal is for a $1.7bn casino to be built on the 30-acre Chicago Tribune Publishing Center at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Halstead Street. The casino is to have 3,400 slots, 170 table games, 500 hotel rooms, six restaurants, three bars, a 3,000-seat theatre, an outdoor park and other amenities.