FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding AB28, AB171, AB176, AB210, AB235, AB246, SB10, SB133, SB335, and SB419:
AB28 (Investing in Nevada's children):
As one of the largest organizations of parents in Nevada, the Culinary Union supports Assembly Bill 28 because it is a major step towards creating a more economically just Nevada.
Far too many children in Nevada are faced with nearly insurmountable economic obstacles while Nevada has one of the most unequal distributions of income in the nation. This has to change. We cannot continue leaving poor and indigent children behind. We must invest in Nevada's children and Assembly Bill 28 is an important step in ensuring that Nevada cares for those who need it most.
The Culinary Union applauds Treasurer Zach Conine for bringing this bill forward and urges the committee to support and pass AB28.
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AB171 (Protecting Building Trades workers):
The Culinary Union Supports Assembly Bill 171 because Nevada needs to make sure that employers responsible for completing public works project are going to reflect well on this state and treat their workers with dignity and respect.
The Culinary Union urges the committee to support and pass Assembly Bill 171.
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AB176 (Banning housing discrimination):
The Culinary Union supports Assembly Bill 176 and applauds Assemblywoman Cecilia Gonzalez for bringing the bill forward. During the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of thousands of Culinary Union members relied on rental assistance to stay in their homes as the government instituted a necessary shutdown of the gaming industry to protect lives.
Banning income discrimination in housing is a necessary step to ensure that rental assistance programs, instituted by the government, actually have the impact of putting Nevadans in homes. The State has a responsibility to mean it when it tells Nevadans it will house them.
The Culinary Union supports Assembly Bill 176 and encourages the committee to support and pass the bill.
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AB210 (Language transparency for workers):
The Culinary Union Supports Assembly Bill 210 because workers, who are building Nevada’s future, deserve transparency regarding their wages. The Culinary Union is proud of Nevada’s diversity, Culinary Union members come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages.
While this bill would not affect Culinary Union members are already are protected with strong union contracts, the Culinary Union understands that language access can be a barrier between workers and their fundamental rights on the job. No worker, especially those working at the behest of the government, should be at risk of exploitation due to lack of fluency in English.
The Culinary Union urges the committee to support and pass Assembly Bill 210.
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AB235 (Protecting prevailing wage):
The Culinary Union Supports Assembly Bill 235 because paying a prevailing wage to Nevada’s workers is the right thing to do. Good paying construction jobs are a cornerstone of Nevada's economy. Many Culinary Union members have a household member who works in the construction trades and Culinary kids benefit from these jobs.
The Culinary Union urges the committee to support and pass Assembly Bill 235.
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AB246 (Protecting language rights for voters):
The Culinary Union is proud of Nevada’s diversity as the largest organization of immigrants, proudly supports AB246. Culinary Union members come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages, and the union strongly supports the voting rights of all Nevadans.
It is impossible for Nevadans to be able to functionally exercise their rights if they cannot fully comprehend voting materials provided to them. Language should not be a barrier to Nevadan’s attempting to access their fundamental rights.
The Culinary Union urges the committee to support and pass AB246.
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SB10 (Funding Nevada's future):
As the largest union in Nevada, the Culinary Union supports Senate Bill 10 because the Treasurer has proven that the State Infrastructure bank is a tremendous asset for Nevadans, that the State will greatly benefit by its expansion, and because the bill makes governance changes which are sensible and appropriate.
Nevada needs affordable and quality workforce housing and the Treasurer’s commitment to support construction projects in Nevada will benefit Culinary Union members members and create good jobs for working families.
In particular, the Culinary Union would like to point to the strong partnership between the State Infrastructure Bank and the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust which could, in the long run, bring millions of dollars to Nevada, create strong middle class jobs, all while helping Nevada to address its ongoing housing crisis.
The Culinary Union applauds Treasurer Zach Conine for bringing this bill forward and urges the committee to support and pass SB10.
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SB133 (Protecting presidential elections):
The Culinary Union believes in democracy. Nevada has one of the most secure election systems in the country and working people know that Nevada’s election results are legitimate.
In order to protect the Battle Born State’s electoral process, Nevada needs serious penalties to discourage attempts to rig future elections. If Nevada does not take steps now to guard against authoritarians who attempt to subvert the will of the people, there is a danger that they will grow stronger and become a larger threat to democracy.
The Culinary Union supports SB133 and strongly urges the Nevada Legislature to protect presidential elections by passing this bill.
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SB335 (Reforming evictions & protecting tenants):
Culinary Union members have not recovered from the effects of the pandemic and thousands are struggling with housing insecurity. The Culinary Union is a member of the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance (NHJA), and we would like to thank the Senator for bringing this bill and for working with the NHJA.
In a 2022 survey of Culinary Union members, 21% said that their rent had gone up $500, 21% said that they are charged monthly fees in addition to rent, and 15% said that they pay more than $100 in fees each month. Rent increases have outpaced wage growth: From the 1st quarter of 2019 through the 2nd quarter of 22, market-rate rent in Las Vegas increased 33% while average weekly earnings only grew 21%. In 2021, investors bought 18% of homes in Las Vegas metro, in some areas of the metro, investor purchases accounted for as much as 26%, over a quarter, of homes sold.
According to the January Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, 49.8% of adults in Nevada experienced “difficulty paying for the usual household expenses in the last 7 days.” Already, in the first week of 2023, Las Vegas had the most eviction filings among major U.S. cities.
Nevada must change the filing order for summary evictions because tenants should have the right to due process when threatened with losing their home. Nevada’s summary eviction process is bad and confusing public policy. Every Nevadan deserves an affordable and stable home, and an eviction should never be a surprise.
The State must ensure that rental assistance programs actually helps keep Nevadans in their homes. A tenant shouldn’t get evicted because the government is late on cutting a check or hasn’t yet processed their application for assistance.
The Culinary Union believes that every Nevadan deserves to be treated with dignity and that housing is a human right. Nevadans should not have to decide between having food on the table or a roof over their head.
The Culinary Union urges the committee to support and pass SB335.
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SB419 (Nevada HOPE Act):
The Culinary Union supports the goals of SB419, namely to expand Medicaid to all Nevadans and ensure people have easy access to their own health records, especially underserved populations that can have the most difficulty navigating the healthcare system. Nevadans should be able to quickly and easily access their health information electronically and have the freedom to do what they want with their personal medical information.
As the largest organization of immigrants in Nevada, many Culinary Union members reside in mixed status households. When Nevadans are unable to access medical care at an affordable rate simply because of their immigration status, it hurts immigrant workers and that impacts our state.
Culinary Union believes that everyone has a right to health care. When the state excludes Nevadans from Medicaid coverage, the state and our healthcare infrastructure is negatively impacted. Uninsured Nevadans will likely not seek preventative care and increase the burden on local emergency rooms.
Culinary Union members have been heavily impacted by the provider shortage in Nevada and the union supports efforts to bring high quality low cost health care to all Nevadans.
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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 88 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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