Hundreds of Virgin Hotel workers finished a 48-hour strike on Sunday, aiming to push Virgin Hotels Las Vegas into accepting a five-year contract regarding wages and benefits.
The Culinary Union's Strike
Ted Pappageorge, Culinary Union Local 226's secretary-treasurer, stated that the absence of wage increase proposals in negotiations with Virgin Hotels Las Vegas has prompted union workers to initiate an economic strike.
Negotiations with Virgin were stalled for five months because the resort did not present a five-year wage increase plan in any of its proposals. Pappageorge emphasized the significant rise in the workers' cost of living, increased gas expenses, groceries, rent surging by 40%, and housing costs have doubled over the past three or four years.
Pappageorge urged big Wall Street banks and Virgin to decide whether they would invest in workers like the rest of Las Vegas, citing that workers' neglect was a cause for the strike. The union advised customers against crossing the picket line and urged potential patrons to cancel reservations that coincided with the strike and book with other union hotels instead.
Hotel Workers Concluding a 48-Hour Strike
Over 700 workers from Culinary Union Local 226 went on strike at the 1,500-room hotel-casino near the Las Vegas Strip on Friday morning. The strike concluded on Sunday morning, and contract discussions are scheduled to resume on Tuesday. Among those participating in the strike outside Virgin Hotels, formerly the Hard Rock Las Vegas, were room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, and laundry and kitchen workers.
Reaching New Agreement on Pay and Benefits
Pappageorge expressed that workers were hopeful the 48-hour strike would accelerate the process of reaching a new agreement with Virgin Hotels, which expired 11 months ago.
Earlier this year, union members at other Las Vegas-area properties secured agreements entailing approximately a 32% salary increase over five years, with a 10% raise in the first year. The last instance of Culinary Union members going on strike occurred in 2002 at the Golden Gate Hotel Casino in downtown Las Vegas.
Virgin Hotels' Alleged Company Stunt
Ahead of the expected strike, Virgin Hotels filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Wednesday, alleging that the union failed to negotiate in good faith despite their sincere efforts to meet and negotiate and that union officials were engaged in unlawful 'take it or leave it' bargaining.
Because the union has not communicated the necessary agreements to prevent a strike, Virgin Hotels has requested the union to mediate promptly to reach an agreement without disrupting the lives of guests and team members with a work stoppage.
Pappageorge informed reporters during a news conference on Thursday that the complaint filed with the NLRB had no validity, describing the charge as merely a company stunt for waiting until the eve of the strike to raise such concerns.
