Approximately 700 non-gaming employees represented by Culinary Union Local 226 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas went on strike today (15 November) amid unsuccessful contract negotiations.
Friday’s strike is the second at the property this year, with the first coming 10-11 May. The two sides have been negotiating since the previous collective bargaining agreement expired last June. The last round of negotiations in July ended in an impasse. A last-ditch meeting yesterday (14 November) was also unsuccessful.
The timing of the strike deadline is no coincidence. The second Las Vegas Formula One (F1) Grand Prix is set for 21-23 November. It has become one of the city’s biggest events, and is a huge point of leverage for Culinary.
Virgin released a statement saying it was “disappointed” that the latest meeting ended “without engaging in meaningful bargaining.” The property has accused Culinary of trying to strong-arm its way to a contract that “it knows is not economically viable.”
“When we concluded our most recent meeting on 11 July, the ball was in the Union’s court,” the statement read. “We did not hear from the Union until 8 November – after it had already set a strike deadline of 15 November. 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.”
In response, Culinary said that Virgin’s latest offer included no wage increases for the first 1.5 years of a new deal. A previous offer included no increases in the first three years. On X, the union called the offers an “insult to workers” and reiterated that the sides remain “miles apart.”
Culinary leveraging F1 race for second straight year
Last fall, when the union was negotiating new contracts with the “Big 3” of Wynn, MGM and Caesars, it used the F1 race as a deadline. Some 40,000 workers across 18 properties prepared to strike, which would’ve crippled the city’s economy at a critical time. The tactic proved successful, with all three companies agreeing to new five-year deals.
The deals included 32% wage increases over the life of the contracts, as well as several other benefits. Daily room cleaning requirements were reinstated, which was a huge point of contention following Covid-era changes. Also included were safeguards against potential job-impacting technologies such as artificial intelligence.
After the Big 3 came to terms, Culinary continued its tour de force throughout the Las Vegas Valley. It also secured deals with dozens of independent operators in the region, presumably with the same or similar terms. In those cases, Culinary used Super Bowl LVIII as leverage by setting a deadline in early February.
Few holdouts remaining–except for Red Rock
Virgin’s strike is significant in that represents one of the last remaining Culinary holdouts in Las Vegas. On 20 August, the union made history by agreeing to terms with workers at the Venetian-Palazzo. That deal completed Culinary’s decades-long quest to unionise the entire Las Vegas Strip. In that case, a four-year deal was reached to coincide with the completion of the other contracts.
The Venetian’s previous owner, Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, was always staunchly opposed to unionisation. Culinary made no progress there until the property was sold to Apollo Global Management following Adelson’s death in 2021.
While Adelson was no friend of Culinary’s, that pales in comparison to the union’s epic feud with Red Rock Resorts. Red Rock, the parent company of Station Casinos, has gone in and out of labor courts with Culinary for many years.
The two sides are currently engaged in two separate claims before the National Labor Relations Board. In one claim, Culinary accuses the company of engaging in union-busting activities at its Red Rock Resort property in the lead-up to an unsuccessful 2019 union election. In the other, Red Rock is accused of leveraging the Covid pandemic as a means to rescind workers’ rights.
