MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Thursday, September 19, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union celebrates the Las Vegas Strip being 100% union with US Department of Labor Acting Secretary Su at Venetian Resort Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV - Culinary Union to celebrate the Las Vegas Strip being 100% union with U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Labor Secretary Julie A. Su on Thursday, September 19, 2024 at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
WHO:
*U.S. Department of Labor Acting Labor Secretary Julie A. Su
*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union
*Patrick Nichols, President and CEO of The Venetian Resort Las Vegas
*Culinary Union members employed at the casino resort
WHAT: Unity in action: Celebrating the Culinary Union x The Venetian Resort Las Vegas historic agreement with U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su.
WHEN: Thursday, September 19, 2024 from 10:00am-11:00am.
Culinary Union livestream: www.Facebook.com/Culinary226
WHERE: The Venetian Resort Las Vegas (3355 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109)
WHY: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Labor Secretary Julie A. Su on Thursday, September 19th will be at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas to celebrate the historic first collective bargaining agreement with the Culinary Workers Union local 226, marking it the final hotel on the strip to be covered by a union contract. The event will uplift the power of unions and employers coming together to increase job quality and safety on the job.
This event will be open press and take place seated indoors. Please note that backpacks and bags larger than the size restrictions (18” x 13” x 7”), selfie sticks, signs, supports for signs and placards, and other items deemed potential safety hazards are not allowed. Media interested in attending this event, please contact barry.allison.m@dol.gov.
The Culinary and Bartenders Unions and The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, which includes The Palazzo at The Venetian Resort announced that a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract was reached Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at 6:42am Pacific. This is a first-time union contract covering over 4,000 of The Venetian Resort Team Members in the food, beverage, housekeeping, bar, lounge, and bell departments as the property officially becomes unionized after 25 years. The tentative agreement was put to a vote, and the response was overwhelming. In a powerful display of unity, 99% of workers voted 'YES' to ratify the historic first-time union contact in that property’s history.
The milestone union contract at The Venetian Resort contains standard union protections negotiated and won over the Culinary Union’s 89-year history: Health care benefits, owners and successorship, access to Culinary Academy of Las Vegas, Culinary and Bartenders Housing Fund, Culinary & Bartenders Legal Service Fund, Culinary Union Pension, and includes language on increased worker security regarding sexual harassment, technology, and immigration, and a choice regarding health care benefits. The agreement also secures the largest wage increases ever, workload reductions and daily room cleaning for guest room attendants, safety protections for workers on-the-job, recall rights, and the right for unionized workers to support non-union restaurant workers seeking to unionize through picketing, leafletting, and other actions.
After 25 years of persistence, the Venetian is now unionized and will forever be. Culinary Union celebrates the achievement of the Las Vegas Strip becoming 100% UNION with Venetian/Palazzo workers and recognize all of the workers, past and present, who organized to win a better future for those to come.
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members, and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 60% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latinx, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry, and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 89 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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