Culinary Looks Ahead
The Culinary Union has blamed President Donald Trump and Lombardo for Las Vegas’ tourism woes. Visitor volume to Las Vegas was down 7.5% in 2025 and is flat in 2026 through September.
Union leaders cite Trump’s policies for keeping visitors away, pointing to mass deportations and economic headwinds like higher gas and grocery prices.
This country is off track, and Culinary Union members know it firsthand. The Trump Slump has impacted the hours and paychecks of hospitality workers while gas, groceries, rent, power bills, and especially healthcare keep rising,” said Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge.
Culinary said Nevadans voted “for a real course correction” and that the union was “proud” to help elect Democrats on the federal, state, and local level. With Congress soon able to check the president and Ford an ally of union workers, Culinary is eager about the future.
Aaron Ford will be a governor for the people. He will be united with workers when it gets tough, whether we’re on strike or fighting the boss, and he will stand up to corporate greed, price gouging, and the for-profit healthcare corporations driving up costs,” Pappageorge said.
Culinary has scolded Lombardo for refusing to back the union in its ongoing quest to organize Station Casinos properties, including Red Rock Casino.
Two of Their Own
The Nov. 3 election saw two Culinary Union members win state elections. Assemblymember Linda Hunt (D-D17) won reelection, and Assemblymember-elect Joe Spica (D) ousted Republican Rebecca Edgeworth in the 35th District.
Hunt is a former food server at the El Cortez Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas. Spica works as a bellman at the Cosmopolitan.