Hundreds of hospitality workers at an off-Strip casino walked off the job Friday morning for the second time this year after employer Virgin Hotels and Culinary Local 226 leadership failed to agree on a new multi-year contract Thursday night.
Last week, Culinary set a 5 a.m. Friday strike deadline to press Virgin management to get a deal done one week before the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
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“This is something we’re fighting for,” said Maria Lozano, a guest room attendant of 14 years. “This is something just, it’s something we deserve and more.”
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Diana Monjaraz, a guest room attendant of two years, said she’s paid about $20.75 an hour. But high inflation that has marked the country’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery has eaten into those earnings.
“It’s impossible to survive off of that, what they’re paying us, because rent, food, gas, insurance – everything has gone up and it’s impossible to survive with the check we get every two weeks,” she said. “I can’t tell my landlord, ‘Oh sorry they’re not giving me a raise. Wait three years for me to pay that.’”