“We’re here fighting for the contract that everybody else got,” said Lee McNamara, who is a lead cook with the family dining room at Virgin Hotels. “It’s frustrating, but we’re here to get the job done. And we’re determined, we’re very determined to get what’s ours.” 

McNamara said he and his son work to support his family of six, but their incomes often just cover the bills, leaving little left over for anything else. He said he had to pick up a second job on the weekends in order to have some money left over — even though it takes him away from his family. 

“Instead of being home on the weekends with my children, I have to go to a second job,” McNara said. “This job pays for the majority of the bills but it’s just not enough. I want to be able to go out as a family and enjoy a meal. It’s difficult with everything being so expensive.”