Culinary employs F1 leverage once more amid Virgin Las Vegas employees' strike.

Culinary employs F1 leverage once more amid Virgin Las Vegas employees' strike.

 Approximately 700 non-gaming employees at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, who are represented by Culinary Union Local 226, went on strike today (15 November) in response to unsuccessful contract negotiations.
 Job losses
 The property has experienced two strikes this year, the first of which occurred on May 10-11. The most recent strike occurred on Friday.  Negotiations between the parties have been ongoing since the conclusion of the previous collective bargaining agreement in June of last year.  In July, the most recent round of negotiations resulted in an impasse.  A final attempt at a meeting was also unsuccessful on November 14th.

 The strike deadline's scheduling is not a mere coincidence.  The second Las Vegas Formula One (F1) Grand Prix is scheduled for November 21-23.  It has emerged as one of the most significant events in the city and serves as a significant source of leverage for Culinary.

 Virgin issued a statement expressing its "disappointedness" with the conclusion of the most recent meeting, which was "devoid of meaningful bargaining."  Culinary has been accused by the property of attempting to coerce it into a contract that it is aware is not economically viable.

 "The Union was in control of the situation when we concluded our most recent meeting on July 11," the statement stated.  "We did not receive communication from the Union until 8 November, after it had already established a strike deadline of 15 November."  The Union's unconstructive approach and bad faith negotiation today were yet another disappointment, following the wait of several months for a response to our June proposal and a return to the table.

 Culinary responded by stating that Virgin's most recent offer did not include any compensation increases for the initial eighteen months of the new contract.  There were no increases in the first three years of a previous offer.  The union referred to the offers as a "insult to workers" and emphasised that the parties are still "miles apart" on X.

 https://twitter.com/Culinary226/status/1857244863034741118
 For the second consecutive year, the culinary industry is utilising the Formula One race.
 When the union was in the process of negotiating new contracts with the "Big Three" of Wynn, MGM, and Caesars last autumn, it utilised the F1 race as a deadline.  At a critical juncture, the city's economy would have been devastated by the strike of approximately 40,000 employees across 18 properties.  The strategy was fruitful, as all three companies agreed to new five-year contracts.

 The agreements encompassed numerous additional advantages, including a 32% compensation increase over the duration of the contracts.  Following the implementation of Covid-19-related modifications, the necessity of daily room cleansing was reinstated, which was a significant contention point.  Safeguards against prospective job-impacting technologies, such as artificial intelligence, were also incorporated.

 Culinary continued its tour de force throughout the Las Vegas Valley after the Big Three reached an agreement.  It also negotiated agreements with numerous independent operators in the region, likely on the same or similar terms.  Culinary employed Super Bowl LVIII as leverage in those instances by establishing a deadline in early February.

 There are few remaining holdouts, with the exception of Red Rock.
 Virgin's strike is noteworthy because it signifies one of the final remaining Culinary holdouts in Las Vegas.  The union achieved a historic milestone on August 20th by reaching an agreement with the Venetian-Palazzo labourers.  Culinary's decades-long endeavour to unionise the entire Las Vegas Strip was successfully concluded with that agreement.  In that instance, a four-year agreement was reached to align with the conclusion of the other contracts.

 Sheldon Adelson, the creator of Las Vegas Sands, was consistently opposed to unionisation during his tenure as the Venetian's previous owner.  Culinary did not make any progress in the area until the property was transferred to Apollo Global Management in 2021, following Adelson's passing.

 Although Adelson was not an ally of Culinary, this pales in comparison to the union's epic feud with Red Rock Resorts.  For numerous years, Red Rock, the parent company of Station Casinos, has been involved in labour court proceedings with Culinary.

 Currently, the National Labour Relations Board is hearing two distinct claims from the two parties.  Culinary alleges that the company engaged in union-busting activities at its Red Rock Resort property in the lead-up to an unsuccessful 2019 union election in one claim.  In the other, Red Rock is accused of exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic to revoke the rights of its employees.