Culinary Union Ends Strike at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas After Two Months

Posted on: January 22, 2025, 05:57h. 

Last updated on: January 23, 2025, 10:17h.

Hospitality workers at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas reached an agreement with management on the 69th day of a strike. The Culinary Union leadership announced an end to the work stoppage on Wednesday afternoon.

Culinary Union picketers
Culinary Union picketers, pictured above, blocked the street near the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in November during a strike. In the middle is union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge. (Image: Culinary Union)

The new five-year contract was ratified with a unanimous vote by workers, according to news reports.

The 69-day walkout was the longest strike at a Las Vegas property in two decades. The walkout started on November 15.

A round-the-clock picket line was carried out in front of the hotel to discourage guests from entering the property and to discourage organizations and performers from appearing or holding events in the hotel.

The new agreement covers some 700 employees at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. They are represented by the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165.

Collaboration Ahead

“Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and the Culinary and Bartenders Unions are pleased to be moving past their contract negotiations as each looks forward to fostering a positive and collaborative working relationship for the benefit of all team members at the property,” the two sides said in a joint statement. “Parties are committed to the resolution of our dispute and to maintaining a union standard at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas that provides for its team members’ families and fosters a better community for all.”

No specifics were released on the agreement. The statement simply added, “Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 have come to an agreement on the terms upon which they are prepared to settle their new Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

Union Says It Won

In a statement quoted by Las Vegas TV station KVVU, Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge told the workers assembled at the union office it “feels good to win.”

The union initially wanted raises for workers at Virgin Hotels that were similar to those given to unionized hospitality employees working at other properties either on the Las Vegas Strip or in downtown Las Vegas. Major properties had given unionized workers a 10% wage increase in the first year of the agreement. They also got 32% in raises over the life of the deal. There were noneconomic gains for union members, too.

Virgin Hotels management complained that the union was negotiating in bad faith and the union’s demands simply were “not economically viable.” Last May, the company filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union and asked Culinary Union officials to meet as soon as possible.

Last May, union members walked off the job for 48 hours. Later, union members staged civil disobedience actions where they were arrested while blocking the street in front of the hotel.

The prior contract governing Virgin Hotels hospitality workers expired on June 1, 2023.

The Culinary Union has approximately 60K members and is an affiliate of the national Unite Here labor group. The union represents bartenders, bellmen, cocktail and food servers, cooks, guest room attendants, kitchen workers, and porters.