RIVERS CASINO &
RESORT SCHENECTADY
CONTRACT RATIFICATION BOOK
707 Eighth Avenue
New York, New York 10036
Prepared by the Hotel and
Gaming Trades Council, AFL-CIO
To the HTC-represented employees of Rivers Casino & Resort
Schenectady,
Attached is a summary of your new union contract. I am proud
to announce that this contract provides for the largest wage
increases in any renewal contract in our Union’s nearly 100-
year history and includes several truly historic new provisions.
The wage increases are broken down into two components.
The first is a large increase retroactive to October 2022 and a
signing bonus, which our Union was able to win thanks to an
economic reopener we negotiated in the current contracts for
Rivers, Resorts World Catskills, and del Lago. This provision
gave us the right to reopen the contracts in the event the
casino tax rates were reduced. In the midst of the pandemic, we used our political
muscle to successfully push New York State to give a significant tax break to the
casinos. This not only helped the casinos to remain open and protected thousands of
union jobs, but it put us in a position to reopen negotiations and demand that the
casinos share their savings with their union workforce. That is why these increases
take effect during the unexpired term of the current contract.
The second component – annual wage increases going forward – was won through
traditional, hard bargaining.
Your new contract also includes groundbreaking language, including: our first-ever
childcare benefit, a new annual cost-of-living adjustment, Juneteenth as a paid holiday,
and new language that strengthens our arbitration rights. The casinos have also
agreed to sign on to any additional benefits we ultimately win in the new GRIWA, which
we are renegotiating with the hotel industry now.
I’m incredibly proud of the unprecedented increases and new rights we have won –
and I’m even prouder that we were able to achieve them while also reducing the cost
of healthcare and protecting all of the other hard-won benefits in the current contract.
Our Union has been determined to make gaming jobs in New York State among the
best in the country. This new agreement does just that.
Congratulations,
Rich Maroko
HTC President
PAGE 1
A Letter from HTC President Rich Maroko
Summary of the Contract
Section A: Wage Increases
3
Section B: Bonus and Cost-of-Living Adjustment
4
Section C: Health Benefits
5
Section D: New Pre-Paid Legal Benefit
7
Section E: New Childcare Benefit
7
Section F: Extra Paid Time Off
7
Section G: Other Provisions
8
Memorandum of Agreement
10
Notes
30
What’s Inside
PAGE 2
SECTION A
WAGE INCREASES
Effective Date
Non-Tipped Employees
Tipped Employees
Retroactive to
October 1, 2022
$3.00 per hour
$1.50 per hour
April 1, 2023
$1.50 per hour
$0.75 per hour
April 1, 2024
$1.50 per hour
$0.75 per hour
April 1, 2025
$1.50 per hour
$0.75 per hour
Total hourly increases
$7.50 per hour
$3.75 per hour
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1. SIGNING BONUS
You will also receive a one-time signing bonus of three thousand dollars ($3,000.00), regardless of
part- or full-time status.
2. COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT
This new contract also contains a brand-new, cost-of-living adjustment provision. This clause
helps to protect you in the event of high inflation. Under the new contract, if the Consumer Price
Index is greater than fifteen percent (15%) (which is approximately the average annual wage
increase in the new contract), you will be entitled to additional raises to help offset rising costs for
items like groceries, gas, and rent.
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BONUS AND COST-OF-LIVING
ADJUSTMENT
SECTION B
1. GUARANTEED AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE
The new union contract guarantees that you can keep the plan you have now and lowers the
monthly cost for you. No matter how much the cost of healthcare increases, the amount you pay
each month will go down as follows:
HEALTH BENEFITS
SECTION C
PAGE 5
Current Cost
New Cost
$2.50 per month
$1.00 per month
Current Cost
New Cost
$10.00 per month
$5.00 per month
Employee
Only
HDHP:
EPO:
Current Cost
New Cost
$10.00 per month
$5.00 per month
Current Cost
New Cost
$30.00 per month
$10.00 per month
Employee
+ Spouse
HDHP:
EPO:
Current Cost
New Cost
$10.00 per month
$5.00 per month
Current Cost
New Cost
$50.00 per month
$10.00 per month
Employee
+
Child(ren)
HDHP:
EPO:
Current Cost
New Cost
$30.00 per month
$15.00 per month
Current Cost
New Cost
$75.00 per month
$20.00 per month
Employee
+ Family
HDHP:
EPO:
2. IMPROVED ELIGIBILITY THRESHOLD
Additionally, it will be easier to qualify for and keep health benefits. The number of hours you need
to average each week is reduced from thirty (30) to twenty-two (22).
3. HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENT (“HRA”)
The HRA benefit for employees who enroll in the current plans will increase to five hundred dollars
($500.00) per year for employee only coverage and one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per year for
all other levels of coverage. Funds in your HRA account can be used for out-of-pocket medical
costs like prescriptions and certain over-the-counter drugs.
4. HEALTHCARE ELECTION
Finally, the option to enroll in a new, different health plan – the “Industry Plan” – will still exist, but
will be postponed from the end of this contract to near the end of the next contract on March 1,
2026.
PAGE 6
PRE-PAID LEGAL FUND
Effective April 1, 2023, you will be able to access lawyers at no cost through the Union’s Pre-Paid
Legal Fund for certain matters related to consumer issues, bankruptcy, home sales and closings,
wills, credit issues, landlord/tenant matters, immigration, adoption, divorce, and child custody.
NEW PRE-PAID LEGAL BENEFIT
SECTION D
NEW CHILDCARE BENEFIT
DEPENDENT CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (“FSA”)
For the first time, the Union contract provides for childcare benefits through a flexible spending
account. Starting January 1, 2024, unless the Employer provides free on-site childcare, they will
reimburse one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month for eligible employees to use toward care for
eligible dependents. To qualify, a dependent must be either: 1) under the age of 13 or 2) a
dependent or spouse who is mentally or physically disabled.
SECTION E
EXTRA PAID TIME OFF
1. HOLIDAYS
Under the new contract, you will receive one (1) additional holiday, Juneteenth — observed on
June 19th — for a total of ten (10) holidays.
2. SICK/PERSONAL DAYS
Effective January 1, 2024, you will receive one (1) additional sick/personal day, for a total of
eleven (11) sick/personal days per year.
SECTION F
PAGE 7
1. DURATION
Your new contract is through March 31, 2026.
2. CONTINUED BENEFITS
All of the hard-won benefits in the current contract are protected, including: the annual five-
percent (5%) increase to all wage-related items, the annual increases to minimum toke rates and
premium rates for Dealers and Slot Attendants working as supervisors, the pension plan, and job
security protections.
3. SEVERANCE BANK
Effective April 1, 2023, your severance bank will be refilled back to your date of hire, even if you
received severance or bridge payments during the pandemic.
4. TRAINING AND INCENTIVES FOR EXTRA GAMES
The hourly increase for Dealers who are trained for additional games (i.e., Blackjack, Baccarat,
Mini-Baccarat, Roulette, Craps, and Poker Room Poker) will increase to one dollar ($1.00) per
hour for each game and thereafter by 5% each year.
SECTION G
OTHER PROVISIONS
PAGE 8
5. STRONGER ARBITRATION RIGHTS
Because arbitration decisions are not self-enforcing, if an employer fails to comply with an
arbitrator’s award, then the Union must pursue costly legal proceedings in court.
This new provision requires the employer to pay the Union’s attorney fees and related costs in
the event they fail to comply with an arbitrator’s decision and the court rules in favor of the Union.
This both disincentivizes the employer from refusing to comply with the arbitrator’s award and
saves the Union time and money.
6. SUCCESSOR GRIWA NEGOTIATIONS
If the Union wins any additional terms or benefits in the new GRIWA, which we are currently
negotiating, the Casino will be bound to those provisions too, if they are not otherwise modified
by your contract.
Note: This is just a summary. Refer to the Memorandum of Agreement for your contractual
rights.
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MEMORANDUM OF
AGREEMENT
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NOTES:
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Prepared by the Hotel and!
Gaming Trades Council, AFL-CIO
707 Eighth Avenue!
New York, New York 10036