FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, August 9, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding the endorsement of Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice-President:
The Culinary Union is proud to endorse Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice-President of the United States of America.
Kamala has consistently championed our union and hospitality workers. She stood by us as we negotiated and won the best union contract ever, and we trust her to continue the progress of the Biden/Harris administration by delivering real results that will prioritize and protect working families.
As the first woman poised to become the next President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris will continue to be a fierce advocate for working people. She understands our challenges and has engaged directly with hundreds of Culinary Union members and Shop Stewards over the past six years. Kamala has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to tackle issues that are important to guest room attendants who clean hotel rooms, cooks who make gourmet food, and the tip-earning servers who deliver cocktails and unparalleled hospitality.
By capping rent increases at 5% and funding affordable housing, core principles of our nearly three-year Neighborhood Stability campaign, Kamala and Tim will have our back.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will unite Black, Latinx, Asian American Pacific Islander, Indigenous, white, and immigrant workers to confront corporate greed and lower rent, gas, and grocery prices - unlike Republicans, who side with Wall Street landlords and the super-rich.
As the largest organization of working women in Nevada, the chance to elect the first Black and South Asian woman president of the USA is both energizing and historic and we are ready to make history together. The path to victory runs through Nevada, and the Culinary Union will deliver Nevada for President Kamala Harris and Vice-President Tim Walz.
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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 60% 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 89 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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