FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, November 22, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union participated in civil disobedience at Virgin Las Vegas, 57 arrested as hospitality workers continue strike of the property and fight for a union contract -
BROLL & PHOTOS FROM CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Las Vegas, NV – One week into the Culinary Union’s first open-ended strike in 22 years, 57 Culinary Union members and striking workers from Virgin Las Vegas were arrested yesterday in an act of peaceful civil disobedience. The labor demonstration drew hundreds of striking workers and union members, who have maintained 24/7 picket lines at every entrance and exit along Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road in front of the property since hundreds of workers went on strike on November 15, 2024, in the fight to win a new 5-year union contract for over 700 hospitality workers at Virgin Las Vegas. The evening culminated with Culinary Union elected leaders, Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge and President Diana Valles, joining workers to sit down and block southbound traffic on Paradise Road near Flamingo. Civil disobedience participants were cited and released.
“I’m in solidarity with Virgin Las Vegas workers tonight and got arrested for a just cause. These workers have waited over 17 months without a new contract, and their patience has run out. The company has refused to settle a contract with fair wage increases and that’s unacceptable,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Virgin Las Vegas workers are strong, and we will stand alongside them until they win the fair contract they deserve. The message to anyone considering staying at Virgin Hotels is clear: Check out. Every other hotel in Las Vegas has professional staff who have settled contracts and respect their workers. Virgin is relying on temporary workers, which is unprofessional and unfair. Strong union health care, fair wages, and job security are worth fighting for, and the Culinary Union will do whatever it takes to win.”
Culinary Union is urging tourists, venue performers, elected officials, and community allies to *not* cross the strike line at the Virgin Las Vegas and encourages customers to cancel their reservation, check out of the property, choose a union accommodation, and eat at union restaurants.
“I got arrested tonight because I am fighting for a fair contract,” said Pamela Holmes lead usher at Virgin Las Vegas and Culinary Union member for 15 years. “We’ve been clear in our message to the company: Workers make the company successful and we deserve a contract that reflects our contributions. Virgin Las Vegas’ repeated claims about letting workers vote are insulting. I am on the negotiating committee and we’ve already voted multiple times to not settle for a second-class contract. It’s time for Virgin Las Vegas to listen to us. We’re on strike because we need a strong contract. Thanks to everyone who supports us in this fight for fairness. We won’t stop until we win!”
Culinary Union condemns Virgin Las Vegas for hiring temporary scab workers - off the street - to clean guest rooms, work in the hotel, cook meals, and serve guests drinks during the strike. Customers deserve better - high quality service provided by trained and trusted professionals. Culinary Union encourages guests to demand that their rooms be cleaned by union professionals and to leave honest reviews online about their personal experience during the strike.
“Tonight our message was clear: We deserve better. Our hotel is as busy - like the Sahara, Rio, or Westgate, where workers have already secured better union contracts with higher wages. Over five years, those other union contracts amount to about $6 more per hour than what Virgin is offering. That kind of difference would be life-changing for me and my family,” said Alain Lopez, a food server at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and Culinary Union member for 4 years. “What’s even more insulting to us is that Virgin Las Vegas is bringing in temporary workers during this strike, paying them $300 a day to try to do what we do. It’s disrespectful to the skilled professionals who make this hotel run. We’re here to send a message that we’re not going to accept zero and we’re also not going to settle for pennies. We’re on strike fighting for everything we deserve. We are union strong and we will not fold. We’ll be out here every day, 24 hours a day, until we win this fight.”
Culinary and Bartenders Unions strikers are from all major areas of operations at Virgin Las Vegas, including housekeeping, food and beverage departments, and the following unionized restaurants: Casa Calavera, Funny Library Coffee Shop, Juice Bar, The Bar at Commons Club, The Kitchen at Commons Club, and The Shag Room.
Virgin Hotels is a lifestyle hospitality brand that Sir Richard Branson's global Virgin Group has pioneered for over 50 years. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is owned by the LiUNA Pension Fund of Eastern and Central Canada (LPFCEC), Fengate Asset Management, and Juniper Capital. LPFCEC, based in Oakville, Ontario, has over C$11 billion in assets; over 150,000 members in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Prince Edward Island; and over 27,500 pensioners and beneficiaries. Fengate, with offices in Toronto and Houston, is a real asset and growth equity investor in North America. Juniper, headed by managing partners Jay Wolf, Alex Krys, and Armand Reale, makes direct investments in real estate and advises a variety of institutional clients with a focus on value creation. In August, Nuveen Green Capital, a subsidiary of Nuveen and a TIAA company, agreed to give Virgin Las Vegas $190 million in financing. TIAA serves non-profit institutions & their employees. Nuveen manages assets for clients including its parent company TIAA.
The contract at Virgin Las Vegas expired on June 1, 2023. The Culinary Union is maintaining 24/7 strike stations with multiple picket lines around Virgin Las Vegas. For months, the Culinary Union has been contacting locals, venue performers, customers, investors, company board members and partners, gaming regulators, and community allies about the strike risk and labor dispute at Virgin Las Vegas.
COMING TO LAS VEGAS AND PLANNING TO STAY AT VIRGIN LAS VEGAS? During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix (November 21-23) and ahead of Wrangler NFR Las Vegas 2024 (December 5-14), Las Vegas Bowl (December 27), AVN Adult Entertainment Expo (Jan 22-25), 2025 Academic Surgical Congress (February 11-13), Exchange 2025 (March 23-26), and Directions North America 2025 (April 7-9), the Culinary Union is asking locals, elected officials, political candidates, conferences/conventions, and tourists to support hospitality workers by not patronizing the Virgin Las Vegas, which is in an active labor dispute.
In negotiations, the Culinary and Bartenders Unions have been winning historic victories for workers including:
*Securing the largest wage increases ever negotiated in the Culinary Union’s 89-year-history. The total compensation won by the Culinary Union for over 50,000 is approximately $3 billion over the total five-year contract. Every worker will be getting a 10% wage increase in the first year and a total of 32% in raises over the life of the new contract. The average Culinary Union member earned about $28 an hour (including their benefits) under the previous contract, and by the end of this new five-year contract, the average Culinary Union member will be earning about $37 an hour (including their benefits).
*Reducing workload and steep housekeeping room quotas, daily room cleaning, and establishing the right for guest room attendants to securely work in set areas.
*Providing the best on-the-job safety protections for all classifications, including safety committees, expanding the use of safety buttons to more workers, penalties if safety buttons don’t work, enforcing mandatory room checks for employee and public safety, and tracking sexual harassment, assault, and criminal behavior by customers.
*Strengthens existing technology protections to guarantee advanced notification when new technology is introduced (which would impact jobs) including technologies with artificial intelligence, increases service recognition pay and extended health care and pension fund contributions for workers who are laid off because of new technology, requires training for new jobs created by technology, introduces the right to bargain over technology that tracks the location of employees, requires notification and opportunity to bargain regarding data sharing, and establishes right to compensation for tipped employees if necessary infrastructure for technology fails resulting in a tipped employee who is unable to do their job.
*Extending recall rights so that workers have more job security and have the right to return to their jobs in the event of another pandemic or economic crisis for up to three-years.
The most recent Culinary Union strike was in 2002 for 10-days at the Golden Gate in Downtown Las Vegas when workers fought for and won a strong union contract.
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members, and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 60% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latinx, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry, and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 89 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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