MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Saturday, December 14, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
30 days on strike: Culinary Union to host STRIKEmas holiday party for strikers on the VirginLV picket line
Las Vegas, NV - On the 30th day of Culinary Union’s longest strike in over two decades, Culinary Union will host a STRIKEmas party with live music, delicious food, and plenty of holiday cheer for strikers on the Virgin Las Vegas picket line. Culinary Union members continue fighting for a new 5-year union contract for 700 hospitality workers.
The STRIKEmas festivities takes place as the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) pledge to stand with strikers: “We stand in full support of the Culinary Union workers on strike at Virgin Las Vegas. As a union of professional football players, solidarity with the labor movement is central to our values. Over the years, we’ve received invaluable support from UNITE HERE and other unions, and we proudly extend our support when called upon. We stand with the Culinary Union in their fight for a fair contract. Until the strike is resolved, we commit to not sleep, eat, or drink at Virgin Las Vegas and encourage our fans and fellow athletes to do the same.”
WHO:
*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union
*Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union
*Hundreds of Virgin Las Vegas strikers
WHAT: STRIKEmas holiday party @ VirginLV strike line
WHEN: Saturday, December 14, 2024 from 5-7pm
WHERE: Virgin Las Vegas (4455 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89169)
WHY:
For the first time in over 22 years, the Culinary Union is leading its longest-lasting strike in more than two decades, taking workers at Virgin Las Vegas out in an open-ended strike that began November 15th at 5:00am as workers continue fighting for a new 5-year union contract for 700 hospitality workers. Since the strike began, hundreds of striking workers and union members have maintained 24/7 picket lines at every entrance and exit along Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road around the casino property.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with Virgin Las Vegas strikers who hail from 23 different countries, including: Belize, Benin, Bulgaria, Cuba, Denmark, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Serbia, Thailand, and Turkey.
“In negotiations, Virgin Las Vegas insulted workers with an offer of essentially 30 cents an hour in wage increases (per hour, per year, after benefits are paid) meanwhile Fengate, a massive Canadian billionaire investment management firm worth over $9 billion, is the majority owner of Virgin Las Vegas. The billionaire Canadian owners have extremely deep pockets, yet they refuse to meet the standards that other hotels like the Strat and Westgate have already agreed to. Workers at other casinos already secured over $4 an hour wage increases, but that’s not happening at Virgin Las Vegas, and that’s outrageous. We are making it clear to those big Canadian billionaires trying to walk all over workers in Nevada – take your 3 dimes and go back to Canada if you can’t meet the Las Vegas union standards. Virgin Las Vegas workers are strong and they will stay out on strike until they win a contract that respects their contributions and values their hard work,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “This holiday season, the Culinary Union is proud to stand with hundreds Virgin Hotel Las Vegas strikers and provide continued support and resources as they continue their fight for a new union contract. The message to anyone considering staying at Virgin Hotels is clear: Check out. Every other hotel on the Las Vegas Strip has professional staff who have settled contracts and respect their workers. Virgin Las Vegas is relying on temporary workers, which is unprofessional and unfair. Strong union health care, fair wages, and job security are worth fighting for and the Culinary Union members will do whatever it takes to win.”
One week into the strike, 57 Culinary Union members and striking workers from Virgin Las Vegas were arrested November 21, 2024 in an act of peaceful civil disobedience. The labor demonstration drew hundreds of striking workers and union members. During the Thanksgiving holiday, Culinary Union hosted food basket distribution and a holiday dinner on the picket line for strikers. Three weeks into the strike, hundreds of strikers marched to tell Virgin Las Vegas’s billionaire Canadian owners to take their 3 dimes back to Canada. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Congressional representatives Dina Titus and Steven Horsford, Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine, and other elected officials have supported workers by walking the picket line and visiting with strikers. Nearly four weeks into the strike, Culinary Union released “A Strike Song (VirginLV).
The contract at Virgin Las Vegas expired on June 1, 2023. For months, the Culinary Union has been reaching out to locals, venue performers, customers, investors, company board members, gaming regulators, and community allies about the strike. As the strike continues, the Culinary Union is urging tourists, venue performers, elected officials, and community allies to stay out of Virgin Las Vegas and is actively encouraging customers to cancel their reservation, check out of the property, choose a union accommodation, and eat at union restaurants.
COMING TO LAS VEGAS AND PLANNING TO STAY AT VIRGIN LAS VEGAS? Ahead of the Las Vegas Bowl (December 27), CES (January 7-10), Fancy Food Show (January 19-21), World of Concrete Expo (January 21-23), AVN Adult Entertainment Expo (Jan 22-25), The ARA Show (January 30-February 1), 2025 Academic Surgical Congress (February 11-13), CHAMPS Trade Show (February 12-15), Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (February 25-27), Exchange 2025 (March 23-26), Bar & Restaurant Expo (March 24-26), and Directions North America 2025 (April 7-9), the Culinary Union is asking locals, elected officials, political candidates, conferences/conventions, and tourists to support hospitality workers by not patronizing the Virgin Las Vegas during the strike.
Culinary and Bartenders Unions strikers are from all major areas of operations at Virgin Las Vegas, including housekeeping, food and beverage departments, and the following unionized restaurants: Casa Calavera, Funny Library Coffee Shop, Juice Bar, The Bar at Commons Club, The Kitchen at Commons Club, and The Shag Room.
Virgin Hotels is a lifestyle hospitality brand that Sir Richard Branson's global Virgin Group has pioneered for over 50 years. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is owned by the LiUNA Pension Fund of Eastern and Central Canada (LPFCEC), Fengate Asset Management, and Juniper Capital. LPFCEC, based in Oakville, Ontario, has over C$11 billion in assets; over 150,000 members in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Prince Edward Island; and over 27,500 pensioners and beneficiaries. Fengate, with offices in Toronto and Houston, is a real asset and growth equity investor in North America. Juniper, headed by managing partners Jay Wolf, Alex Krys, and Armand Reale, makes direct investments in real estate and advises a variety of institutional clients with a focus on value creation. In August, Nuveen Green Capital, a subsidiary of Nuveen and a TIAA company, agreed to give Virgin Las Vegas $190 million in financing. TIAA serves non-profit institutions & their employees. Nuveen manages assets for clients including its parent company TIAA.
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members, and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 60% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latinx, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry, and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 89 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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