FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, January 28th, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Geoconda Argüello-Kline regarding the unfair IRS TIP Allocation rate hike during the COVID-19 pandemic:
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.
Why is the IRS going after working families instead of big corporations and the wealthy to ensure that they pay their fair share?
It’s been 23 months and we are still the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS needs to do the right thing and go back to the reduced pandemic TIP Allocation rates.
Soon, the Culinary Union will be sitting down with committee from over 100 union restaurants, thousands of tipped workers in Las Vegas, and major hospitality and gaming companies. We will be asking that the IRS go back to a fair reduced rate.
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 need and demand that the IRS do the right thing and go back to the reduced TIP Allocation rate immediately.
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 for working families in Nevada for 87 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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