Culinary Union prepares for a strike against Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate at the Las Vegas Convention Center

ONLINETWEET

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: 

Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 11am 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088

  

Culinary Union prepares for a strike against Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate at the Las Vegas Convention Center

Workers to make strike signs at Culinary Union HQ

Las Vegas, NV -  Culinary and Bartenders Union bargaining unit members who work for Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate at the Las Vegas Convention Center to make strike signs on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 11am as workers continue to push for a union contract. 

In a major step towards going out on strike, workers began preparing for a strike by making strike picket signs and signing up for strike line shifts and benefits. Conventions are booming, but Sodexo workers says their jobs aren’t enough for cost of living. The dispute is with Sodexo Live! / Centerplate not the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority or any other employer.

WHO:

*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union

*Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union

*Culinary Union members employed at Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate

WHAT: Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate ON STRIKE sign making

WHEN: Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 11am 

WHERE: Culinary Union (1630 South Commerce Street Las Vegas, Nevada 89102). Strike sign making will be in the parking lot.

WHY:

Banquet servers, bartenders, concession cashiers, cooks, dishwashers, and other Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate workers who perform work at the Las Vegas Convention have voted 100% to authorize a strike against Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate. The unanimous strike vote was held over two days at the Culinary Union HQ on December 7 and 8, 2022. Culinary and Bartenders Unions represent approximately 300 Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate employees who perform work at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the strike vote occurred as workers say their jobs aren’t enough to keep up with the cost of living.

The Culinary and Bartenders Unions, which are now authorized to call a strike if a contract has not been reached, have not set a date for a strike as negotiations are on-going with Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate. In a major step towards going out on strike, workers began preparing for a strike by making strike picket signs and signing up for strike line shifts and benefits.

"We are in a tough fight against Sodexo/Centerplate at the Convention Center. We are tired of second-class treatment, while workers at the Westgate (just 30-feet away) are treated with respect," said Esmeralda Avila, a pantry worker at Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate. “In December, my coworkers and I voted 100% YES to authorize a strike against Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate. No one wants to strike, but we will if we have to. We are not second class workers!"

“I voted to strike because we are the ones that make Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate successful at the Convention Center, and we want to get a fair share of that success,” said Dylan Schoenhard, banquet server for Sodexo/Centerplate at Las Vegas Convention Center. “We have been busy working for Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate at the Convention Center, but we need higher pay because everything is so much more expensive now, especially rent and housing. We don't want to be treated like second-class workers.”

“After the COVID-19 pandemic, convention business is booming again, and Culinary Union members work tirelessly for Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate to provide the best service,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Sodexo made over $1 billion in profit last year, but the workers who make that possible are getting left behind. Sodexo/Centerplate workers who work at the Las Vegas Convention Center voted to authorize a strike against Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate because they deserve first-class jobs.”

“I’ve worked in food service at the Las Vegas Convention Center for 20 years and I voted yes to authorize a strike against my employer Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate because we deserve wages that are equitable and have parity with the Las Vegas Strip,” said Pearl Rodriguez, a coffee server at Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate at Las Vegas Convention Center. “I’m extremely inspired by the past. We are standing on the shoulders of everyone that came before us. I think back to the Frontier Strike and what those workers had to endure and the fight that they had over their very long strike - they set an example for us. We are not second-class and we will strike if there isn’t a fair agreement.” 

FACTS: Sodexo made over $1 billion (€1.059 billion) in profit in fiscal year 2022. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, Sodexo reported: “Corporate Services benefited from continued return to the workplace, Sports & Leisure was up by more than 50% as the volume and average spend of sporting and convention center events increased significantly. Yet, banquet servers, bartenders, concession cashiers, cooks, dishwashers, and other Sodexo LIVE! / Centerplate food service workers at the Convention Center say their jobs aren’t enough to keep up with the cost of living. Centerplate was purchased by Sodexo in 2019.

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 45% 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 88 years.

CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226 

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