Hundreds of workers at a hotel near the Las Vegas Strip went on strike Friday morning.
Nearly 700 hospitality workers at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas have walked off the job after contract negotiations between the hotel and the culinary union broke down.
The culinary union said Friday’s action was its first open strike in 22 years. Culinary union workers at the hotel also took part in a 48-hour strike in May, which, according to the union, was the first strike in 22 years.
“The contract at Virgin Las Vegas expires on June 1, 2023, and employees are fighting for a new contract that secures a better future for their families. That’s why the Culinary Union has called for a strike at Virgin Las Vegas on Friday, November 15 and urges Las Vegas locals and customers not to cross the strike line in solidarity with the workers,” said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the culinary association said in a statement shared with Fox Business.
The culinary union is Nevada’s largest union, with more than 60,000 employees.
The union said no workers at any other Las Vegas hotels are being called to strike.
Pappageorge said Virgin Las Vegas’ proposal is “miles apart” from what the union wants and is an insult to every worker, which is why the committee unanimously refused to settle for a second-rate contract.
The union said that the protesting employees will remain outside the hotel 24 hours until the strike ends.
“I don’t know how we’re any different,” said Virgin Las Vegas server Deanna Wan. fox 5 Other Las Vegas hotel workers who successfully negotiated new contracts.
“I guess we’re not like other casinos on the Strip, but that’s the same situation with the Rio and Westgate. A lot of the people who aren’t on the Strip are unionized, and they signed a contract that’s pretty awesome compared to what they’re trying to give us.
A Canadian guest at Virgin Las Vegas said he’s already noticed a difference in the hotel’s service.
“This morning, we went to order breakfast – room service – and they said it was not available,” Lance Richards told Fox 5.
“They are not open today. I found this strange because one part of the advertisement talked about 24 hour room service. So, we went to have breakfast outside the hotel, and we saw all these picketers and figured out why we couldn’t get room service.
Fox Business has contacted Virgin Las Vegas for comment.
Virgin Las Vegas accused the union of “bargaining in bad faith” in its latest statement, pointing to FOX 5.
“When we concluded our most recent meeting on July 11, the ball was in the union’s court,” Hotel said this week.
“We did not receive a response from the union until November 8 – even though it had already set a strike deadline of November 15. “After waiting several months for the union to respond to our June proposal and return to the table , Their unstructured approach and bad faith bargaining today was another disappointment.
