Culinary Union Strike At Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Continues
Just before the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix got underway, the Culinary Union strike at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas began. The union had been working with an expired contract for nearly a year and a half and after a brief quasi-strike prior, the decided the time had come to have their first walkout in 22 years.
In total, 700 employees walked off the job at Virgin Hotels on Friday, November 15th, and since then it has been a battle of wills. Virgin Hotels claiming they have had no issues working without Culinary Union members, hiring employees who were former union employees who were let go from other Las Vegas properties after they accepted newer, richer union contracts. The Culinary Union ramping up their attack on the property, harassing people entering the property and being arrested for blocking traffic.
The Culinary Union strike at Virgin Hotels has been a long haul and it will involve someone blinking. Either the Culinary Union members growing weary and in need of income, or Virgin Hotels Las Vegas folding to the union’s demands.
Arbitration Scoffed At; Culinary Union Strike At Virgin Continues
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas showed the first quivering lip. Hotel leadership tried to get the Culinary Union to the arbitration table. In other words, to try to formerly negotiate a new deal outside of the courtroom.
The union isn’t budging.
According to News 3, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union Ted Pappageorge scoffed at the request, calling it nothing more than a publicity stunt. The union’s issue has been despite practically ever property in Las Vegas agreeing to the new terms of a deal that has its employees seeing a better income that holds up to the cost of living, Virgin Hotels is not willing to make the same deal.
Arbitration, the union says, would require the result of the arbitration, and the arbitrator, to be binding. They aren’t willing to budge.
So here we are, rapidly approaching the 50th day of the Culinary Union strike at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, and it appears we are nowhere close to a resolution.
