MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 6:00am
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 8:00pm
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union to launch the largest statewide GOTV program on Election Day to deliver Nevada for Kamala Harris for President, host watch party at Culinary Union HQ for hundreds of canvassers
BROLL of Culinary Union canvassers in the field
Las Vegas, NV - Culinary Union continues the strongest political program in Nevada in support of Kamala Harris for President by launching the largest “Get Out the Vote” (GOTV) operation on Election Day at the Culinary Union HQ. Culinary Union’s powerful political program is mobilizing 600 political organizers statewide to knock on over 900,000 doors and talk to more than 130,000 voters by the end of Election Day.
In an average day, a Culinary Union canvasser knocks on 60+ doors during their shift, with the entire team knocking on 20,000 doors a day on average in Las Vegas and Reno, 6-7 days a week for 4 months. Since early August, Culinary Union’s political team has been knocking on the doors of over half of voters of color in Nevada, connecting with 70% of Black voters, 57% of Latinx voters, 29% of AAPI voters, and 20% of Indigenous voters.
The Culinary Union is running the largest statewide political program in Nevada. Hospitality workers, who have taken a leave-of-absence from their casino jobs to get out the vote, are available for interviews in English or Spanish. There are also limited shadowing opportunities available to reporters who are interested in spending an hour in the field with canvassers. To attend any of the Election Day events on Tuesday, November 5, shadow a canvass team, or to schedule interviews with workers and/or Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge, RSVP HERE.
WHO:
*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union
*Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union
*Hundreds of Culinary Union canvassers
EVENT 1:
WHAT: Election Day canvass launch with the Culinary Union
WHEN: ELECTION DAY - Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 6am Pacific
EVENT 2:
WHAT: Election Night watch party with the Culinary Union
WHEN: ELECTION DAY - Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 8pm Pacific
WHERE: Culinary Union (1630 South Commerce Street Las Vegas, Nevada 89102)
WHY: Culinary Union previously released its 2024 General Endorsement Guide and is proud to run the largest statewide political program to elect Kamala Harris as President and Tim Walz as Vice-President, and re-elect Senator Jacky Rosen and Congressional representatives Dina Titus, Steven Horsford, and Susie Lee.
“We are mobilizing voters to ensure their voices are heard in every corner of Nevada because the path to victory and the White House runs right through Nevada and Culinary Union members. Workers need strong political leaders like Kamala Harris and Senator Jacky Rosen who will confront corporate greed and lower rent, gas, and grocery prices,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Unlike Donald Trump and Republicans, who side with Wall Street landlords and the super-rich, Kamala Harris stands with hospitality workers. Kamala Harris will cap rent increases at 5%, fund affordable housing, provide $25,000 in down-payment assistance, eliminate the sub-minimum wage, end taxes on tips, raise the minimum wage, and unite workers. Kamala Harris has consistently championed Culinary Union members and has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to tackle issues that are important to guest room attendants who clean hotel rooms, cooks who make gourmet food, and the tip-earning servers who deliver cocktails and unparalleled hospitality. As the largest organization of working women in Nevada, the opportunity to elect the first woman president of the USA is both energizing and historic and we are ready to make history together, and so the Culinary Union will deliver Nevada for President Kamala Harris and Vice-President Tim Walz.”
In early October, the Culinary Union released a new 30-second and 15-second video, “Kamala Harris fights for us” on social media. The digital ad highlights that Kamala Harris is fighting to protect our American dream from corporations that are price gouging working families on food, gas, and housing. Culinary Union is also running a statewide “Trump is for Trump” digital billboard campaign in Las Vegas and Reno.
As the Culinary Union celebrated it’s 89th anniversary on November 1, 2024, Nevada’s largest union is mobilizing hundreds of thousands of hospitality workers and immigrant voters during the 2024 General to elect political leaders who will continue to fight for Nevadans. Political canvassers reflect the Culinary Union’s diverse membership, which is majority women and Black, Latinx, Asian American, and people of color, and are committed to organizing and winning economic and racial justice. Culinary Union has worked for nearly nine decades to build worker power and strength as the largest organization of workers in Nevada. Each political effort draws from the Culinary Union’s nearly nine-decades of rich knowledge of effective and precise voter contact, which is rooted in the principle of working people talking to each other about the importance of building collective power through voting.
The Culinary Union is the largest affiliate of UNITE HERE, the hospitality workers union.
UNITE HERE runs the largest labor-led independent canvassing program in the country, with 1,800 canvassers aiming to knock over 3.5 million doors across key battleground states including Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.
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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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