Statement regarding SB26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, March 20, 2017

Media Contact:
Bethany KhanBKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088 

Statement by Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union regarding SB26:

We believe that SB26 is a misguided and dangerous attempt to silence the dissent of people with different viewpoints.

Boycotts and protest have been an invaluable, and sometimes the only, tool for working and oppressed people to address injustice.

In the 1950s, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks led a successful boycott in Montgomery that eventually resulted in the desegregation of buses.

In the 1960s, activists successfully boycotted the South African government until its unjust policy of apartheid was abolished in 1990s.

And right here in Nevada, the Culinary Union has used economic boycotts and protests for 82 years to win workers rights and raise the standard of living for more than 750,000 working men and women.

None of these victories would've been possible if the opposition was able to silence dissent, like SB26 clearly attempts to do.

We strongly urge the committee to vote against this unnecessary bill and focus on issues and policies that Nevadans are most concerned with: Healthcare, immigration, and education.

-        Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union

ABOUT THE CULINARY UNION:

Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent over 57,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 270,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America. 

The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest immigrant organization with over 57,000 members - a diverse membership that is approximately 55% women and 56% Latino. Members -who work as guest room attendants, bartenders, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and kitchen workers- come from 167 countries and speak over 40 different languages. The Culinary Union has been fighting for fair wages, job security, and good health benefits for working men and women in Nevada for over 82 years.

The Culinary Union encourages the public to stay away from Nevada hotels and casinos involved in active labor disputes such as most of the Station Casinos properties, including Palms, Red Rock Resort, and Green Valley Ranch. (We note that the company’s Boulder Station does not currently have a labor dispute.) To see the list of hotels and casinos in an active labor dispute, go to: VegasTravelAlert.org.  

CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226

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