Casino workers at Bally’s three Black Hawk properties in Colorado have officially joined Teamsters Local 455, marking the first time in state history that casino employees have unionized. The 110-worker bargaining unit spans Bally’s East, North, and West venues in the mountain gaming town, one of Colorado’s three main casino hubs.
The workers organized through a card-check process, a route made possible after Bally’s and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters signed a neutrality agreement in November 2025. That accord committed Bally’s to recognizing a union once a majority of workers in a given unit signed authorization cards, bypassing a traditional secret-ballot election.
Who’s Covered by the New Bargaining Unit
The newly organized group includes cooks, cashiers, bartenders, servers, housekeeping staff, maintenance technicians, slot attendants, and slot technicians. According to the Teamsters, the employees pursued union representation to seek wage increases, improved benefits, and safer working conditions on the job.
“The workers at Black Hawk Casino came together to secure a stronger voice on the job, and they’ve made history in the process,” said Tommy Blitsch, Director of the Teamsters Convention, Trade Show, and Casino Division. Housekeeper Alexander Balza, a new Local 455 member, said the group “saw an opportunity to make things better at work, and we took it.”
Part of a Broader Labor Push in Gaming
The Black Hawk vote adds to what the Teamsters describe as a national casino membership approaching 6,000 workers. Bally’s neutrality agreement with the Teamsters wasn’t an isolated move — the operator has also struck similar card-check and neutrality arrangements with other unions, including the International Union of Operating Engineers, as part of a broader strategy toward peaceful labor organizing across its properties.
With the union now recognized, attention shifts to negotiations over a first contract at the Black Hawk properties, which represent three of Bally’s four casinos in Colorado. Those talks will determine actual changes to pay scales, benefits packages, and workplace policies for the newly organized staff. The outcome could set a template for how labor organizing plays out at casino properties elsewhere in a state where sports betting and gaming continue to expand rapidly — a trend bettors can track alongside the latest Colorado sportsbooks options available to residents.
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