Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union, which represents 60,000 Vegas workers, said federal immigration and economic policies are keeping international travelers away.
“The unions and the industry and the government need to get together and repair the damage and welcome tourism back,” he told Fox News Digital.
Pappageorge called the tipped income tax exemption proposed in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” a “welcome relief.”
He pointed out, however, that if workers aren’t “making the tips, the credit doesn’t help.”
He said companies have already frozen hiring and made targeted staffing cuts, with part-time workers – who make up 25% of the union’s membership – being the first to lose hours.
“If it continues, it could bleed into the full-timers,” he added.