Hundreds of Casino Workers Strike, Shaking Up the Las Vegas Strip!

LAS VEGAS — In a pivotal show of solidarity, hundreds of hospitality workers at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas initiated a strike shortly before dawn on Friday. This action marks the first open-ended strike in over two decades for the Culinary Workers Union, which represents around 60,000 members statewide.

Prior to the strike, workers engaged in a 48-hour walkout earlier this year as negotiations stalled. They are advocating for a new five-year contract that includes better wages and enhanced benefits. The union mobilized its members through social media, declaring, “@VirginHotelsLV casino is ON STRIKE! Stand with the workers, DO NOT CROSS THE STRIKE LINE!”

This strike coincides with a year-long momentum in labor negotiations on the Las Vegas Strip. Last November, just before a major Formula One event, thousands of workers averted a mass walkout when contracts were reached, resulting in a significant pay increase. However, unlike other hotels, Virgin remains without a new agreement.

Bethany Khan, spokesperson for the union, emphasized that Virgin Hotels is now the “final holdout,” with the current contract for about 700 employees having expired in June. Workers insist that the casino’s management is unwilling to offer wage increases in the initial three years of any new agreement.

Merla Paramo, a casino porter, stated through the union’s channels, “We are worth more than zero wage increases.” The response from Virgin Hotels indicated a willingness to negotiate future wage increases but failed to address the union’s immediate demands, leading to the latter’s refusal of the proposal.

Despite its smaller scale compared to last year’s anticipated citywide strikes, Friday’s action could still disrupt operations at Virgin Hotels, due to its location near the bustling Las Vegas Strip. The hotel-casino, previously known as the Hard Rock, occupies a historic site marked by an iconic neon guitar sign until its removal in 2017.

The last instance of a Culinary Union strike occurred in 2002 at the Golden Gate hotel-casino, lasting for ten days. As events unfold, the stakes for both the workers and the casino are high.