700 hotel union workers launch 48-hour strike at Virgin Hotels casino near Las Vegas Strip

LAS VEGAS (AP) — About 700 workers have walked off the job at a hotel-casino near the Las Vegas Strip in what union organizers say will be a 48-hour strike after spending months trying to reach a deal for new five-year contract with Virgin Hotels. Culinary Union Local 226 said Friday’s action marks their first major strike in 22 years. Virgin Hotels has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board accusing the union of negotiating in bad faith. The union reached agreements late last year with all the major hotel-casinos on the Strip covering about 40,000 workers and with most downtown and off-Strip properties in early February covering another 10,000 workers.