Hospitality workers strike at off-Strip casino after negotiations fail

Last week, Culinary set a 5 a.m. Friday strike deadline to press Virgin management to get a deal done one week before the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Virgin officials declined an interview request for Friday. A Thursday statement said it tried to address Culinary’s concerns about a lack of wage increases in the first three years of the contract.

“Today, in an attempt to address the Union’s concerns, we proposed bringing forward a portion of the wage increase that was previously proposed for years four and five so that there are no longer zero increases in the first three years,” according to a statement from hotel management. “Again, the Union chose to engage in ‘take it or leave it’ bargaining, refusing to move off of a position that it knows is not economically viable for our off-Strip property and that would negatively impact all hotel team members.”

On Friday, Culinary Local 226 Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge told reporters the company “put a few more pennies on the table” during bargaining on Thursday. He said the company’s offer was “less than a third” of the $9.21 wage and benefit increases, over the life of the contract, achieved at comparable resort corridor properties.

“It’s funny, most companies can’t find their money when they’re in negotiations but when they are ready to spend a billion dollars buying and renovating a property like this, there’s plenty of money,” he said.

Union members at the property, located east of the Strip on Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road, said they will strike until the negotiations are resolved and asked customers and community allies not to cross the picket line. The walkout comes after months of on-and-off negotiations for its roughly 700 nongaming union members and one other work stoppage.

The strike threatens staffing levels days before the Formula One race. Events begin Thursday.

But workers said they weren’t concerned about how this may disrupt upcoming events. In fact, they hope the pressure brings forward a stronger proposal from management.

“This is something we’re fighting for,” said Maria Lozano, a guest room attendant of 14 years. “This is something just, it’s something we deserve and more.”

Lozano said previous owners of the hotel used incentives and prizes to keep workers happy. But new management, JC Hospitality, offered little.

Diana Monjaraz, a guest room attendant of two years, said she’s paid about $20.75 an hour. But high inflation that has marked the country’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery has eaten into those earnings.

“It’s impossible to survive off of that, what they’re paying us, because rent, food, gas, insurance – everything has gone up and it’s impossible to survive with the check we get every two weeks,” she said. “I can’t tell my landlord, ‘Oh sorry, they’re not giving me a raise. Wait three years for me to pay that.’ ”

Previous actions

Culinary members at Virgin are the last in the labor organization to reach a deal with their employer in the Las Vegas area. Multiyear contracts were negotiated at other Strip, off-Strip and downtown properties in fall 2023 and this winter, but union officials agreed to extend discussions at Virgin because of the property’s finances. New management took over the property, formerly the Hard Rock Hotel, and rebranded it to Virgin Hotels in March 2021.

Culinary used the pending inaugural Formula One race as a means of leverage to achieve a “historic” contract in 2023. The union set a strike deadline at three of the largest Strip operators — MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts — ahead of race week, forcing negotiations that had lasted for about seven months. The contract ultimately included a 32 percent wage and benefits increase over the life of the contract, among other labor gains in workload and benefits.

Virgin has accused Culinary of “unlawful ‘take it or leave it’ bargaining” in complaints sent to the National Labor Relations Board. But union leaders said the hotel-casino earlier proposals of no wage increases for the first three years of the contract was a nonstarter in their eyes.

Virgin union members hosted a two-day strike at the property on May 10-11 and a civil disobedience event on Aug. 29 that resulted in roughly two dozen arrests. Pappageorge said more are planned, though the union is focused on standing up on the picket line first.

Culinary members from other properties are expected to join the picket line en masse at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Inside the property Friday morning, several Virgin guests said they had yet to notice disruptions to service. Some wandered close to the picket lines while waiting for ride shares, taking photos and wondering what the protest was for.

An American diner-style eatery, The Kitchen at Commons Club, was closed. Signs directed guests to other restaurants on the property. It’s unclear if the closure was related to the strike.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.