MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Thursday, October 28th, 2021 at 5pm Pacific
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union to host a “We will comeback stronger” rally on the Las Vegas Strip, thousands of hospitality workers to participate
Las Vegas, NV - 35% (21,000) of the 60,000 members that the Culinary Union represents are - 20 months after the pandemic began - still not back to work. 65% (39,000) of hospitality workers are back to work due to the incredible protections union members have in their contracts. The Culinary Union wants gaming partners in the industry to be successful, for tourists to return to Las Vegas, and for hospitality workers to be able to return to work at 100%.
Workers in Las Vegas have built the hospitality industry over the Culinary Union’s 87 years and they should be centered as the economy recovers from the devastating impacts of COVID-19. Hospitality workers want loyal customers to return to Las Vegas and be provided with the quality service that they know Las Vegas offers. Workers are ready to prepare and serve great food in full-service restaurants, make and serve quality drinks and beverages, and ensure guest rooms are cleaned and sanitized daily.
WHO:
*Geoconda Argüello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union
*Culinary Union members
*Station Casinos workers
*Community, clergy, and progressive allies
*Nevada State AFL-CIO affiliate union members
WHAT: Thousands of hospitality workers to gather on the Las Vegas Strip in the first major rally since the COVID-19 pandemic began 20 months ago.
WHEN: Thursday, October 28th, 2021 at 5pm Pacific.
WHERE: Las Vegas Blvd and Harmon
3 lanes between Harmon and Paris Drive (by Paris Casino) to be closed off to ensure safety of all rally participants. Speakers to be on an elevated platform with speakers broadcasting sound. Media interviews to take place post program.
WHY: Since March 2020, the Culinary Union has been fighting to protect hospitality workers and their families during the COVID-19 crisis.
Over a year later, it’s clear that there has been no organization in Nevada that has done what the Culinary Union has done to protect workers, extend health care for 18 months, keep working families in their homes, provide essential food assistance daily, enforce worker’s rights on-the-job, deliver Nevada for Biden/Harris and pass much-needed relief for Nevadans, ensure workers are safe at work by passing the first and only-in-the-nation COVID worker safety law (SB4), and win SB3866 in the Nevada Legislature so hospitality workers can have the Right to Return to their jobs as the economy recovers.
35% (21,000) of the 60,000 members that the Culinary Union represents are - 18 months after the pandemic began - still not back to work. 65% of hospitality workers (39,000) are back to work due to the incredible protections union members have in their contracts. The Culinary Union wants gaming partners in the industry to be successful, for tourists to return to Las Vegas, and for hospitality workers to be able to return to work at 100%.
Workers in Las Vegas have built the hospitality industry over the Culinary Union’s 87 years and they should be centered as the economy recovers from the devastating impacts of COVID-19. Hospitality workers want loyal customers to return to Las Vegas and be provided with the quality service that they know Las Vegas offers. Workers are ready to prepare and serve great food in full-service restaurants, make and serve quality drinks and beverages, and ensure guest rooms are cleaned and sanitized daily.
Background for media as you report on this event: This march is not a protest against any casino company. It is a rally, not a strike, march, action, or a demonstration.
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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 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 for working families in Nevada for 86 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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