FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, September 20, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union celebrates the Las Vegas Strip becoming 100% union with the U.S. Department of Labor at the Venetian -
Las Vegas, NV – The Culinary Union and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Labor Secretary Julie A. Su celebrated the Las Vegas Strip becoming 100% unionized on Thursday, September 19, 2024 at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Attendees of the event celebrated the historic first union contract that was reached between the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, which was the final casino resort on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip to be covered by a Culinary and Bartenders Unions collective bargaining agreement.
“We are proud to celebrate a new day here at the Venetian. The fight to unionize the Venetian has been one of the longest and most significant in Culinary Union’s 89-year history. From standing up to anti-union billionaire Sheldon Adelson in 1999, to winning the right at the U.S. Supreme Court to picket and protest on sidewalks in front of Las Vegas casinos, and now securing a historic first contract, workers never gave up. This first contract at the Venetian makes the Las Vegas Strip 100% unionized, with over 4,000 Venetian workers benefiting from strong wage increases, union healthcare and pension, and job security,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “We applaud Venetian’s management team, especially CEO Patrick Nichols, for recognizing that workers are essential to the company’s success and for giving workers a say in their future. This victory today is also a testament to the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration, whose unwavering commitment to ensure workers can organize and win a union has been a source of great strength. Culinary Union also thanks Acting Secretary Julie Su, a fighter for working families, for her continued support of workers who stand together to build a stronger future.”
“This contract now brings the Las Vegas Strip to a 100% unionized workforce,” said U.S. Department of Labor Acting Labor Secretary Julie A. Su. “When you have a union contract, you can look forward to positive relationships between employers and their worker. You can look forward to building a world-class property with world-class employees. You can improve communication, not just at the bargaining table, but in between bargaining sessions. You have a way of talking about how we can better improve the way the business operates. You come to work knowing that you are valued, that you have a voice…It's so important to have good jobs in our country and it's such a deep commitment of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the entire Biden/Harris administration. When President Biden says the middle-class built America and unions built the middle class, he's talking about all of you….We want to make sure that a [good] job like that is available to every worker, to every family, in every community all across the country, and you are showing that that is possible here. So thank you for what you have done. I'm so excited to celebrate with you.”
“We saw this as an opportunity to strengthen the trust we’ve built with our team members and create a positive and productive relationship with union leadership in the bargaining unit. I'm incredibly proud of the first time contract we negotiated with the Culinary and Bartenders Union. It's a fair contract and I believe it was negotiated in record time for our first contract,” said Patrick Nichols, President and CEO of The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. “I think this achievement is a…reflection of the hard work of our team members who negotiated the contract, the leadership team, and the trust that exists between them. When you work together, as we have done, everybody wins, especially our team members who are the foundation of our success. When they feel supported, we know they bring their best selves to work, and when our team is happy, our guests are happy…I know we've laid the foundation for a strong collaborative relationship in years to come…this collaboration is about ensuring our company continues to grow while maintaining the values that have always defined us. Together, we've shown that change can be a positive force and I'm confident that this partnership will continue benefit us all in the years to come.”
“I feel very excited and happy that my co-workers and I were able to win a strong union contract. About a year ago, the majority of my co-workers and I signed a union card and the company respected our wishes and I want to say thank you to the company for respecting our choice to unionize and treating us with respect,” said Carmen Vargas, Culinary Union member and floor stylist at the The Venetian Resort Las Vegas for 14 years. “I am proud that we were able to win the same union standard as the rest of the Strip that includes job security, the best union health benefits, a pension, and technology language. With our new technology language, we will be able to negotiate when new technology is brought into the workplace - which is amazing! Thanks to my union, I have peace of mind and know that my future is protected.”
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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