strike from Culinary Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas<\/a>, which is hosting the event for the first time since 2020, when the property was the Hard Rock.<\/p>\nAlana Evans, an inductee into the AVN Hall of Fame, already had appearances booked for the expo when she learned of the strike. And as president of the first federally recognized union for adult entertainers, she\u2019s not crossing the picket line.<\/p>\n
The union\u2019s officers voted unanimously to support the Culinary strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy fans can meet me outside on the picket line,\u201d Evans told the Sun. \u201cThey can come outside and get pictures with me there. I\u2019ll sign their autographs for free … to show solidarity for the Culinary workers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union president is one of a growing list of adult entertainers who have taken to social media to share that they won\u2019t come to AVN unless the strike is resolved by the time the expo opens Wednesday. Most blamed Virgin Hotels for the strike, which started in mid-November.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people who are involved in sex work also are waiters, are waitresses, are people in housekeeping,\u201d said Sasha Bee, an organizer with the transgender-led Sex Worker Action Alliance. \u201cSo I don\u2019t think that Virgin Hotels understand that we are connected in our struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n
While AVN wouldn\u2019t provide comment to the Sun, Virgin Hotels wrote that the property is \u201cexcited\u201d to host the show and looks \u201cforward to providing exceptional service to the thousands of guests attending the expo, events and award shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hotel emphasized that its attempts to resolve the strike, most recently through a third party, have been shot down by the Culinary Union. The union publicly responded that it never settled a strike through arbitration.<\/p>\n
Virgin\u2019s invitation to come back to the negotiating table \u201cremains standing,\u201d the property told the Sun. The most recent offer from Virgin amounts to a 30-cent increase in hourly wages each year of a five-year contract, union officials said.<\/p>\n
Culinary has embraced the adult entertainers\u2019 support online, reposting many of the models announcing they won\u2019t come. It\u2019s not just minor accounts, either, with some having over 100,000 followers.<\/p>\n
Ted Pappageorge, the union\u2019s secretary-treasurer, thanked Evans\u2019 Adult Performance Arts Guild (APAG) for its vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkers across industries share the same fight for dignity, fair pay, respect and protections,\u201d Pappageorge said this month. \u201cCulinary Union is proud to stand with APAG in solidarity as strikers continue to take on a billionaire-owned company that refuses to treat workers fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The support isn\u2019t limited to individual entertainers.<\/p>\n
Pornhub, the world\u2019s largest adult website by traffic and a mainstay at the yearly expo, announced Jan. 10 that it wouldn\u2019t attend AVN or XBiz, an industry event staged this weekend in California. But the popular website didn\u2019t provide an explanation.<\/p>\n
A Pornhub spokesperson later told the Sun that the company plans the two events together and the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires, along with its support of the Culinary Union, led to the decision.<\/p>\n
Evans called the company\u2019s move \u201cmassive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Pornhub is backing out because of what\u2019s happening without saying it, that\u2019s because the models made themselves loud and clear,\u201d she said. \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s a beautiful thing. It\u2019s not easy to get support for unions, ourselves included.\u201d<\/p>\n
MintStars \u2014 a smaller, worker-centric alternative to OnlyFans \u2014 wrote on X this month that it also wouldn\u2019t attend this year\u2019s AVN.<\/p>\n
Despite AVN being one of two events MintStars typically goes to every year, CEO Daniel Sargent said the company couldn\u2019t act like it advocates for sex workers while also crossing the Culinary Union\u2019s picket line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re waiting to see what AVN says and if there is any movement. We\u2019re still optimistic that there will be either a resolution or an alternative venue found,\u201d Sargent said. \u201cOtherwise, we\u2019re in the process of scrambling for a plan B.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having already booked her flight, Evans is also still making her way here for the event. She won\u2019t be staying at Virgin Hotels and is still planning on networking, just not on the hotel\u2019s property.<\/p>\n
But support isn\u2019t universal.<\/p>\n
Model and Las Vegas resident Em Indica, and asked to go by her stage name to protect her anonymity, believes only around a third of the attendees support the union.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s sympathetic to the union\u2019s efforts and joined the striking workers on a march from the Strip to Virgin Hotels this month. However, she said most of the pro-union voices online aren\u2019t from the industry\u2019s top stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing that comes with internet fame and all that stuff; I think a lot of people tend to lose themselves a little bit,\u201d she said. \u201cBut there is a very strong group of people, especially APAG, joining.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indica said some people also can\u2019t afford to throw away the money they already spent on the expo and show.<\/p>\n
Both models were critical of AVN\u2019s lack of communication, with Evans saying most people only learned of the strike in late December or early January. But the show did publish a \u201cfrequently asked questions\u201d page online.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the union said some information on the website is incorrect.<\/p>\n
While the FAQ states that 80% of Virgin\u2019s striking staff are back to work, the \u201cvast majority are out and stayed out,\u201d union spokesperson Bethany Khan said. A Virgin Hotels spokesperson told the Sun in November that 60% of workers crossed the picket line.<\/p>\n
AVN also wrote on the page that \u201cVirgin Hotels Las Vegas has successfully hosted multiple events \u2026 without any issues. Guests have experienced no delays, disruptions or room complaints related to the strike.\u201d<\/p>\n
In December, the union launched a website hosting negative reviews of Virgin Hotels related to the strike from across the web. Some complain about not being told about the ongoing protest. Others say they were chastised by union members. And a few take issue with the speaker the hotel set up near the picket blaring music.<\/p>\n
Comedian Steve Hofstetter, who has over 800,000 followers on Facebook, also canceled his January<\/a> show at Virgin Hotels, writing that he was doing so \u201cin solidarity with the striking (C)ulinary workers.\u201d<\/p>\nHe added a new Vegas show to his tour for May at Town Square\u2019s Wiseguys comedy club.<\/p>\n
Still, Evans and Indica don\u2019t blame AVN for the rough return to the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe asked (AVN) to reconsider their relationship with Virgin, and if that means that they can\u2019t cancel the show because of the contracts that are involved \u2014 the money that\u2019s involved \u2014 it\u2019s understandable,\u201d Evans said. \u201cHowever, going forward, I would seriously reconsider that, because Virgin can fix all of this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n