Together, Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 represent some 60,000 workers in the resort properties of Las Vegas and Reno. When those workers run into obstacles—management conflicts, citizenship battles, economic hardship—they turn to their union, and the union entrusts Bethany Khan with getting their message to its employers and to the public.

The Culinary union’s spokeswoman and director of communications and digital strategy has a staunch and tireless dedication to economic equality and social justice. She has fought for immigration reform, for pay equality, even for democracy itself; she played a key role in the Culinary union’s effort to canvass voters in the lead-up to the 2022 midterm election. She works long days, occasionally forgoing sleep entirely—which, to her, is no hardship at all. “I’m really productive when others are sleeping,” she says.