Hundreds of workers went on strike early Friday morning at a hotel near the Las Vegas Strip.
Around 700 hospitality workers walked off the job at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas as contract negotiations between the hotel and the Culinary Union broke down.
The Culinary Union said Friday’s action is its first open-ended strike in 22 years. Culinary Union workers at the hotel also participated in a 48-hour strike in May, which, the union said, was its first in 22 years.
"The contract at Virgin Las Vegas expired on June 1, 2023, and workers 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 the Virgin Las Vegas on Friday, Nov. 15, and urges Las Vegas locals and customers to not cross the strike line in solidarity with the workers," Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Union, said in a statement shared with FOX Business.
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The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest with more than 60,000 workers. The union said no workers from any other Las Vegas hotels are being called on 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 voted unanimously to refuse to settle for a second-class contract."
The union said picketing workers would be outside the hotel 24 hours a day until the strike ends.
"I don’t know how we’re different," Virgin Las Vegas server Deanna Vann told FOX 5 of other Las Vegas hotel workers who successfully negotiated new contracts. "I get that we’re not like other casinos on the Strip, but same thing with Rio and Westgate. A lot of ones that aren’t on the Strip are union, and they signed a contract, a great one, compared to what they’re trying to offer us."
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One Canadian guest at Virgin Las Vegas said he’s already noticed a difference in service at the hotel.
"This morning, we went to order breakfast — room service — and they said it was unavailable," Lance Richards told FOX 5. "They’re not open today. I thought that was strange because part of the advertisement was having 24-hour room service. So, we went to get breakfast outside the hotel, and we saw all these picketers and found out why we can’t get room service."
FOX Business has reached out to Virgin Las Vegas for comment.
Virgin Las Vegas pointed FOX 5 to its latest statement accusing the union of "bad faith bargaining."
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"When we concluded our most recent meeting on July 11, the ball was in the union’s court," the hotel said this week. "We did not hear from the union until Nov. 8 — after it had already set a strike deadline of Nov. 15. After we waited several months for the union to respond to our June proposal and return to the table, their unconstructive approach and bad faith bargaining today was another disappointment."
