LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Hundreds of workers at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas made good on a promise to strike Friday morning.
Dozens of Culinary Union Local 226 members were out before the sun came up, chanting for a new contract, after their fellow union members at other Las Vegas resorts all recently got one.
“We’re fighting for what everyone else got,” Aaron Mahan, a food server at Virgin Hotels, told FOX5 Friday morning. “We’re fighting for a fair wage. It’s a short-term sacrifice for hopefully a long-term goal.”
“It’s sad to see that it’s only us but that’s why we’re here, fighting for our contract,” fellow union member Isabel Gonzalez echoed.
Unlike previous demonstrations by the union in the past year, these picketers are doing so on the clock.
“We want what everyone else got. We deserve what everyone else got,” Mahan said. “And we’re willing to sacrifice for it.”
FOX5 asked union leadership where the disconnect is between them and Virgin in negotiations.
“We’ve got issues on the table, there’s workload issues, there’s housekeeping issues, there’s safety issues, there’s other language issues,” union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said. “The goal is to send a message to this company a strong message so that they come to the table ready to bargain.”
While the strike is happening, picketers say morale is high.
“We want to keep fighting for my family, for my coworkers’ family so we want to win this,” Gonzalez said.
They hope these 48 hours are the only ones they spend on strike, though.
“I’m sure we’ll come to an agreement eventually, but why can’t we just get it done?” Mahan asked. “It’s not fun being out here. We want to be inside. We want to be doing our jobs.”
Virgin Hotels has issued a statement regarding the strike:
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