700+ employees walk off the job at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
The largest culinary union in Nevada, Local 226, said the action marked its first strike in 22 years.
After months of negotiations over the expired collective bargaining agreement between Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and the Culinary Union, workers have begun to walk off the job at the hotel to begin a 48-hour strike. More than 700 workers from the Culinary Workers Union 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas have begun to strike with plans to form 24-hour picket lines from May 10 to exactly 4:59am on May 12.
The strike could affect areas of operation across the hotel such as housekeeping, food and beverage departments, including any unionized restaurants.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is the last major hotel in the city that has not reached a contract agreement with the Union. A lack of wage increases is believed to be the center of tension in disputes from workers, especially as the hotel continues expensive renovations. Las Vegas resorts also continue to make record revenues year-over-year.
The latest collective bargaining agreement between the two sides expired June 1, 2023 and no agreement has been made despite an original strike deadline of February 5, 2024 not being executed due to agreements being reached with every major on-strip hotel and most downtown and off-strip properties.
The strike is the Culinary Union’s first in 22 years, having not walked off the job since 2002 at Golden Gate Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas.
In retaliation for the strike being planned in advance, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on May 8, accusing the union of failing to negotiate in good faith.
In the complaint, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas said, “Despite our sincere efforts to meet and negotiate, union officials were engaged in unlawful ‘take it or leave it’ bargaining.”
In a public press release, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas stated, “Because the Union has not told us what agreements it believes are necessary to avoid a strike, we have asked the Union to join us in mediation as soon as possible. The goal of mediation is to reach an agreement without disrupting our guests and our team members’ lives with a work stoppage.”
At a news conference on May 9, Culinary Union Secretary and Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said, “The charge is just a company stunt, and it’s unfortunate and sad that they’ve waited until the eve of the strike to even have that kind of discussion.”
The next bargaining session between the Culinary Union and Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is set for Tuesday, May 14.
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