ONLINE / TWEET
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 at 5pm
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
UNITE HERE Convention joins Culinary Union to picket the Palms
What: Over a thousand UNITE HERE members, who will be in Las Vegas for their convention, will join Culinary Union members and Palms workers to picket.
When: Wednesday, June 26, 2019 from 5pm-6pm.
Where: Palms Casino Resort (4321 West Flamingo Road Las Vegas, Nevada 89103)
Who: UNITE HERE President D. Taylor, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Sara Nelson, Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Culinary Union President Ted Pappageorge, UNITE HERE & Culinary Union members, Station Casinos & Palms workers.
Why:
“Station Casinos always said it would respect the rights of its employees to organize and vote for a union,” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Yet after workers voted to unionize by 84% at Palms, the company tried to overturn the elections and are now illegally refusing to negotiate.”
The Palms is owned and operated by Station Casinos, which is controlled by billionaire Trump donors Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled recently that Station Casinos should cease and desist its refusal to bargain at the Palms. The NLRB is currently seeking to have its orders enforced in the court of appeals while Station Casinos continues to unsuccessfully challenge the democratic unionization majority vote by its employees.
Workers at six Station Casinos’ Las Vegas properties are now unionized and fighting for a contract: Boulder Station (September 2016), Palace Station (March 2017), Green Valley Ranch (November 2017), Palms (April 2018), Sunset Station (June 2019), and Fiesta Rancho (June 2019).
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ABOUT THE 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 280,000 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 130,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest 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 -- approximately 55% women, 54% Latinx, 19% White, 15% Asian, 10% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples — and consists of guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting for fair wages, job security, and good health benefits for workers in Nevada for 84 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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