Bally's Corporation has taken another step forward with its flagship Bally's Chicago casino construction project. The company has signed a multi-project labor agreement (PLA) with both the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council (CCBT) and the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department.
CCBT President Michael Macellaio described the deal as an opportunity to boost the local economy once the casino is finished.
He commented: "CCBT 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."
Chicago Federation of Labor President, Bob Reiter, echoed similar sentiments and said: "We appreciate that Bally's holds itself to a higher standard when it comes to employment.
"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."
Bally's is a global casino and entertainment company that owns and manages 14 casinos in ten US states. Its casino operations have a total of 5,300 hotel rooms, 500 tables games and more than 15,800 slot machines.
Bally's Chairman Soo Kim said the company takes pride in reflecting and supporting the needs of the communities it serves.
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."
Kim went on to add that Bally’s takes diversity and inclusion seriously when it comes to forming its partnerships.
He concluded by saying: "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.”
