Ted Pappageorge, center, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, and union members chant in solidarity with striking workers in Detroit during a break in contract negotiations between the union and Caesars Entertainment at the Horseshoe Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. With Pappageorge, from left, Leain Vashon, a bell captain at Paris Las Vegas, Diana Valles, president of Local 226, and Maria Espino, porter at Caesars Palace and Jennifer Black, guest room attendant at Flamingo. Terry Greenwald, secretary-treasurer of Bartenders Union, Local 165, is seated at right. While workers were able to secure favorable contracts with many Las Vegas Strip casino hotels last year, members on Friday are set to strike at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, where employees have been working without a contract since the agreement expired last year.
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 | 5:35 p.m.
Hundreds of Las Vegas hospitality workers are scheduled to participate in the Culinary Union's first official strike in more than two decades, as the organization continues to negotiate with Virgin Hotels Las Vegas for a new five-year contract.
The strike will kick off with a complete work stoppage and 24-hour picket lines Friday at 5 a.m., and lasting until Sunday at 4:59 a.m., the union announced Wednesday evening. It’s the first strike by the Culinary and Bartenders Unions at the Virgin Hotels property in Las Vegas. The two sides are scheduled to be back at the negotiating table May 14, according to a release.
“When there is an active picket line outside of a casino, there is a labor dispute, and so the Culinary Union is already urging customers and community allies to not cross the picket line at the Virgin Las Vegas and will be encouraging visitors to cancel their reservation, check out of the property, and choose a union accommodation,” the release said.
Union members from properties on the Las Vegas Strip and downtown are slated to join the hundreds of Virgin guest-room attendants, food servers, bartenders and other hospitality workers participating in the Culinary Union’s first strike in 22 years, per the release.
The last strike in 2002 lasted for 10 days and won workers a strong contract at the Golden Gate, the release said.
The union has amassed supplies and materials for “24/7 strike stations,” for this weekend’s strike, which the release said will impact all major areas of operations at Virgin, from housekeeping to food and beverage, including unionized restaurants like Casa Calavera, The Shag Room and more, the release said.
“We are fighting for a new union contract that includes better wages, less workload, and for the same rights that every other casino has on the Strip,” Alain Lopez, a food server at Virgin and Culinary Union member, said in the release. “We are going on strike at the Virgin Las Vegas to make sure that one job should be enough!”
It’s been almost a year since union workers’ contract expired at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Union, in a statement Wednesday.
“Workers at Virgin Las Vegas deserve fair wage increases and they are organized and ready to strike for it,” Pappageorge said in the release. “As Virgin Las Vegas workers go on strike … the Culinary Union has their back every step of the way and we will win.”
Friday’s strike will come on the heels of the Culinary and Bartenders Unions voting to authorize a citywide strike in September 2023, before securing historic contracts for tens of thousands of workers with major players on the Strip — including Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts.
Since then, hospitality workers have also locked down new contracts at a slew of downtown and independent properties, including the Golden Nugget, the Rio, the El Cortez and more, according to the Culinary Union website.
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Culinary Union headquarters this year to commend the organization for what it’s won for Las Vegas hospitality workers.
According to Wednesday’s release, new Culinary contracts at resorts around Las Vegas include the union’s largest-ever wage increase, reduced workloads, job safety and technology protections and more.
“I’m ready to strike because I’m fighting for me, my family, and my co-workers,” Isabel Gonzalez, a guest-room attendant at Virgin and a Culinary Union member of 14 years, said in a statement. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win … great wage increases, health care, and job security for my family. My co-workers and I … are united to win higher wages and to get a contract so that one job should be enough.”
Contract negotiations for Virgin are all that remain, the release said Wednesday.
“Nothing in our nine decades has been easily won and our good jobs weren’t simply handed to us,” Pappageorge said in a statement. “We made hospitality jobs in Las Vegas family-sustaining jobs with decades of sacrifice and strength, and we will continue to win what we deserve — a great union job with fair wages, job security, and the best health care benefits so that Virgin Las Vegas workers can continue to provide for their families.”
