Culinary Union to picket Sodexo/Centerplate outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center as workers push for a contract

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MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: 

Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 10am

MEDIA CONTACT:

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

Culinary Union to picket Sodexo/Centerplate outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center as workers push for a contract

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Las Vegas, NV -  Culinary Union members at Sodexo/Centerplate LIVE! employed at the Las Vegas Convention Center to picket on Thursday, February 16, 2023 from 10am-11am as workers push for a union contract. Conventions are booming, but Sodexo workers says their jobs aren’t enough for cost of living.

WHO:

*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union

*Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union 

*Sodexo / Centerplate LIVE! Workers

*Culinary Union members

*Community allies

WHAT: Hundreds to picket Sodexo/Centerplate outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center

WHEN: Thursday, February 16, 2023 from 10am-11am

WHERE: Las Vegas Convention Center (3150 Paradise Road Las Vegas, NV 89109) 

WHY:

Cooks, dishwashers, banquet servers, concessions cashiers, and other Sodexo/Centerplate workers employed at the Las Vegas Convention have voted 100% to authorize a strike. The unanimous strike vote was held over two days at the Culinary Union on December 7 and 8, 2022. Culinary Union represents approximately 300 employees 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. Culinary Union, which is now authorized to call a strike if the contract has not been reached, has not set a date for a strike as negotiations are on-going. Centerplate was purchased by Sodexo in 2019.

"We are in a tough fight at 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/Centerplate. “In December, my coworkers and I voted 100% YES to authorize a strike. 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 the Convention Center successful, 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 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 to provide the best service,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “The Las Vegas Convention Center generates billions in positive economic impact for Nevada per year, but the workers who make that possible are getting left behind. Sodexo/Centerplate workers at the Las Vegas Convention Center voted to authorize a strike because they deserve first-class jobs.” 

“I’ve worked at the Las Vegas Convention Center for 20 years and I voted yes to authorize a strike because we deserve wages that are equitable and have parity with the Las Vegas Strip,” said Pearl Rodriguez, a coffee server at Sodexo/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: The Las Vegas Convention Center had more conventions in FY22 than in FY2019, and facilities usage revenue increased and Sodexo reported a “strong increase in revenues and profitability in Fiscal 2022. Yet, cooks, dishwashers, concessions cashiers, and other Sodexo food service workers at the convention center say their jobs aren’t enough to keep up with the cost of living.

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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