Virgin Hotels Casino Workers Hold Weekend-Long Strike

Approximately 700 hotel workers, spanning various roles from guest room attendants to kitchen staff, staged a 48-hour strike at a prominent hotel casino near the Las Vegas Strip this past Friday. The strike, organized by the Culinary Union, marks the union's first significant labor action in 22 years.

The Culinary Union, Nevada's largest labor union, previously threatened a citywide strike late last year but reached agreements with major hotel-casinos along the Strip, ensuring labor peace for around 40,000 workers.

Similar agreements followed in early February, encompassing roughly 10,000 workers in downtown and off-strip properties.

• The focal point of the current strike is Virgin Hotels, formerly the Hard Rock Las Vegas. Workers gathered outside the establishment with placards to protest ongoing contract negotiations.

• Anticipating the strike, Virgin Hotels filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing the union of not negotiating in good faith.

• Virgin Hotels called for mediation to reach an agreement without affecting guest services.

Despite its smaller scale, the strike at Virgin Hotels holds significance due to the hotel-casino's proximity to the Strip and its iconic 80-foot-tall neon guitar sign. The Culinary Union's last major strike occurred in 2002 at the Golden Gate hotel casino in downtown Las Vegas.

Earlier this year, union members at various Las Vegas-area properties secured agreements with:

• Salary increases totaling approximately 32% over five years

• A 10% increase in the first year

• Additional benefits addressing worker conditions

Ted Pappageorge, the Culinary Union's secretary-treasurer, explained that the Super Bowl placed pressure on hotel casinos to finalize negotiations, delaying a broader strike. He emphasized that the 48-hour strike was necessary due to the expired contract at Virgin Las Vegas since June 1, 2023.

• Virgin Hotels’ NLRB complaint was dismissed by Pappageorge as a “company stunt.”

• Workers sought renewed security and fairness after operating without a contract for over a year.

• The union highlighted the importance of standing together to protect workers’ rights.

By the weekend’s end, the strike concluded. Workers and Virgin Hotels reached a tentative agreement and will reconvene at the negotiating table on Tuesday to finalize the details.