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Virgin Hotels says it must protect its financial health as strike in Las Vegas drags on

“In Las Vegas, we fight these hedge funds and big private equity companies that bring billions, like they’ve done here, and they bring no money for workers,” Pappageorge said. “We’re going to fight until they pay these workers a fair contract.”

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The property is partially owned by the pension fund for a Canadian branch of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, or LIUNA. The decades-old fund is one of the largest in Canada, having over $7 billion in assets.

The Culinary Union has started directly targeting fellow unionists north of the border. Last week, it published a video of Victor Del Toro, a porter at Virgin Hotels, speaking directly to “LIUNA brothers and sisters.”

“I have family members in the LIUNA — both sides of the family for many years,” Del Toro said. Speaking directly to the organization, he added that, “They should support us because we’re a brotherhood, and we’re all union.”

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Throughout the strike, the resort has repeated the phrase “let them vote,” referring to its most recent offer. While not a vote, over 600 Culinary Union members signed a petition saying they didn’t agree to the deal.

“You wanted our vote, and here it is — NO!” the petition reads. “We have the right to a wage increase that covers our needs. Many of us must work two jobs, and the company proposal is not enough to cover basic needs like food, rent and gas.”

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