FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding reporting that the Tropicana Las Vegas will close:
Bally’s Corporation announced yesterday that Tropicana Las Vegas Casino Resort will be closing temporarily in 18-24 months for development, should the public financing for a new A’s stadium occur.
The Culinary and Bartenders Unions have been the bargaining representative for hundreds of unionized workers at the Tropicana Casino ever since the property was built and opened in 1957. Culinary Union members at the Tropicana Casino have a strong union contract, which means that Tropicana workers are protected.
The Culinary Union will negotiate to ensure worker’s rights under the contract are strictly followed and so that workers have additional compensation, health care coverage, and pension benefits while the property is closed for development.
Culinary Union contracts include strong language on layoff, recall, seniority, training, and placement so that unionized workers will have access to free job training and continued benefits during closure, seniority rights of first-access to job openings when the property reopens, and placement into other job opportunities as they are available.
Culinary Union will ensure workers and their jobs are protected and the contract is followed.
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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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