We really thought they would work it out… but no. Another Las Vegas strike is happening – this time at Virgin – right before the big F1 race, and the timing is surely not a coincidence. Don’t misunderstand, we truly appreciate the workers position. And we want everyone who works for a living to make a reasonable wage. But we can’t help but notice that the unions have made it a habit of using big events like the Grand Prix to coerce the resorts that employ them and manipulate the situation to their advantage.
That’s all fine and dandy. You could say that the latest Las Vegas strike is a smart and legitimate tactic, and it very well may be. After all, without the workers these resorts could not reap the massive profits that Formula 1 brings them. From the resort’s perspective though, they workers would not have any income if not for their risk, investment, and operation… all of which cost money. So with no new talks scheduled, the open-ended strike—Nevada’s first of its kind since 2002—shows no signs of letting up.
We’re just a week before the race now, and around 700 workers at Virgin Las Vegas, including guest room attendants, food servers, bartenders, and kitchen staff, are now on the picket lines in front of the resort. The timing of the strike poses a significant challenge for the hotel chain, as the F1 race is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of fans to the city. However, with both sides standing firm, there are no indications of renewed negotiations.
The Culinary Workers Union, which represents around 60,000 members statewide, is pushing for wage increases and better benefits, seeking terms similar to those secured by other local casinos last year. Virgin Hotels has called the terms negotiated by other casinos—such as 32% salary increases over five years—“economically unsustainable” for its operations. The company insists it is committed to reaching a “reasonable agreement” to this latest Las Vegas strike for all of its 1,710 employees, but accuses union leadership of stalling and refusing to engage in “meaningful negotiations.”