MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 11am
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union to rally over unfair IRS TIP Allocation rates
Las Vegas, NV - Hundreds of Culinary Union members to rally over unfair IRS TIP Allocation rates.
WHO:
*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union
*Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union
*Hundreds of Culinary and Bartenders Union members who are tipped workers
WHEN: Thursday, March 24, 2022 from 11am-12pm
WHERE: Federal Building (333 South Las Vegas Blvd)
WHY:
In 2020 and 2021, the IRS reduced the TIP Allocation rates by 50-60% during the COVID-19 pandemic. That was the right thing to do, however, as of January 1, 2022, the IRS raised the TIP Allocation to an unreasonably high rate. The new TIP Allocation rate is unfair to hospitality workers in Nevada.
The IRS needs to sit down and work with tipped workers, like they have done in the past, and come to a reasonable rate. Working people demand that the IRS do the right thing and go back to the reduced TIP Allocation rate immediately.
The Culinary Union asked Nevada Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen to urge the IRS to sit down with workers and lower the TIP Allocation rate. Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen sent a letter March 2, 2022: https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cortez-masto-rosen-call-on-irs-to-discuss-tip-allocation-rate-with-nevada-labor-unions
Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen to the IRS: "The hospitality industry continues to struggle with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, with those in food and beverage services facing double the national unemployment rate. The tip allocation rate affects tens of thousands of workers in Nevada and around the country, and they deserve a seat at the table at a time when they face higher rental and housing costs while hoping to work enough hours to make ends meet...This is not the time to penalize workers and businesses. We look forward to an expeditious response."
“Why is the IRS going after working families instead of going after big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share? President Biden promised not to raise taxes on working people, but the IRS is raising taxes on tips everywhere in Nevada. The Culinary Union is fighting back to protect workers and we are happy to have the support of our Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. Hospitality workers in Nevada are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and that’s why the IRS needs to do the right thing and go back to a reduced pandemic TIP Allocation rates immediately,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union.
The Culinary Union will continue to advocate, alongside gaming/hospitality companies, and elected representatives, to ensure hospitality workers have a fair TIP Allocation rate.
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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 and winning for working families in Nevada for 87 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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