BREAKING: STRIKE AVERTED! Culinary Union is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement on a new 5-year contract was just reached with the @Downtown_Grand for nearly 200 hospitality workers and we congratulate workers on winning the best contract ever!https://t.co/906V5TnY49 pic.twitter.com/lPQDr7EJlT
— Culinary Union (@Culinary226) February 5, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sunday, February 4, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding the historic citywide contract victory:
The Culinary Union is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement on a new 5-year contract was just reached with the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino for nearly 200 hospitality workers and we congratulate workers on winning the best contract ever.
As negotiations continue to progress, the Culinary and Bartenders Unions have decided to give Virgin Hotel Las Vegas more time and we expect a resolution on a new contract in the coming weeks.
These were tough negotiations and it took over 2 years of preparation, 10 months of negotiations, lots of hard work, committee meetings, sleepless nights, and worker-led organizing. No victory in our union’s history is ever guaranteed and thousands of workers who participated in rallies, protests, civil disobedience, picketing, surveys, picket sign making, strike voting, and delegations inside the properties sacrificed to win a better future for themselves and our families. Culinary Union members comprise a major component of Nevada’s middle-class and in these negotiations, we proudly won our fair share of record profits by securing historic protections and billions in raises for working families in Nevada.
With the strike being averted, the Culinary Union welcomes President Joe Biden to Las Vegas. We know that he is a champion for workers and we are grateful for his continued leadership. We appreciate the Biden/Harris Administration’s steadfast support during our historic contract fight to ensure that working families in Nevada can thrive.
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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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