110 Workers at Bally’s Black Hawk Join Teamsters; Union Says It's Colorado’s First Casino Union

A group of 110 workers at Bally’s Black Hawk in Colorado has organized with Teamsters Local 455 through a card-check process, in what the union says is the first casino unionization in state history.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced the organizing win Thursday in an Aug. 13 press release. The workers are employed at Bally’s Black Hawk, a three-casino operation in Black Hawk, Colorado.

According to the Teamsters, the new bargaining unit includes cooks, cashiers, bartenders, servers, housekeeping staff, maintenance technicians, slot attendants and slot technicians. The union said the workers organized to seek wage increases, improved benefits and safer working conditions.

The Teamsters said the victory “marks the first time in Colorado history that casino workers have unionized,” though that historical claim was not independently established in the sourced materials. Public records cited in background research suggest union representation in Black Hawk casinos has been rare.

The workers joined through card check, a process in which an employer agrees to recognize a union if a majority of employees in a proposed bargaining unit sign authorization cards, instead of going through a contested election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that enforces private-sector labor law.

That route was made possible by a neutrality and card-check agreement that Bally’s and the Teamsters announced on Nov. 18, 2025. The union said that agreement provided the framework for the workers’ recognition.

“The workers at Black Hawk Casino came together to secure a stronger voice on the job, and they’ve made history in the process,” Tommy Blitsch, director of the Teamsters Convention, Trade Show, and Casino Division, said in the release.

Teamsters Local 455, which is based in Colorado, said it is now preparing to represent the Bally’s Black Hawk workers in negotiations for a first contract.

“Our brothers and sisters at Local 455 are excited to welcome the newest bargaining unit to our family,” Dean Modecker, secretary-treasurer of Local 455, said in the release. “And we’re ready to represent and protect them in the fight for a fair first contract.”