MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Sunday, September 15, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union canvass launch with UNITE HERE and AFT
Las Vegas, NV - Culinary Union to host a canvass launch with the presidents of UNITE HERE and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). AFT is on a multi-city election bus tour with a stop at Culinary Union on Sunday.
WHO:
*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union
*Gwen Mills, President of UNITE HERE
*Randi Weingarten, President of AFT
*Evenlyn DeJesus, Executive Vice President of AFT
*Culinary Union members
WHAT: Culinary Union canvass launch
WHEN: Sunday, September 15, 2024 at 11:00am
WHERE: Culinary Union’s John Wilhelm Big Hall (1630 South Commerce Street Las Vegas, Nevada 89102)
WHY: The Culinary Union is proud to endorse Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice-President of the United States of America.
VP Harris has consistently championed our union and hospitality workers. She stood by us as we negotiated and won the best union contract ever, and we trust her to continue the progress of the Biden/Harris administration by delivering real results that will prioritize and protect working families.
As the first woman poised to become the next President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris will continue to be a fierce advocate for working people. She understands our challenges and has engaged directly with hundreds of Culinary Union members and Shop Stewards over the past six years. Kamala has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to tackle issues that are important to guest room attendants who clean hotel rooms, cooks who make gourmet food, and the tip-earning servers who deliver cocktails and unparalleled hospitality.
By capping rent increases at 5% and funding affordable housing, core principles of our nearly three-year Neighborhood Stability campaign, Kamala and Tim will have our back.
They will unite Black, Latinx, Asian American Pacific Islander, Indigenous, white, and immigrant workers to confront corporate greed and lower rent, gas, and grocery prices - unlike Republicans, who side with Wall Street landlords and the super-rich.
As the largest organization of working women in Nevada, the chance to elect the first woman president of the USA is both energizing and historic and we are ready to make history together. The path to victory runs through Nevada and the Culinary Union, and we will deliver Nevada for President Kamala Harris and Vice-President Tim Walz.
UNITE HERE’s political program is known for delivering close elections in key battleground states. The union is already mobilizing its members to knock on over 3.3 million doors in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, and Michigan to ensure that Kamala Harris wins the Presidency. As in 2020 and 2022, the program will be pivotal in delivering victory, engaging voters across these crucial states, and highlighting the stark contrast between Kamala Harris’s vision to unite America and Donald Trump’s plans to divide us.
Leaders of the 1.8 million-member American Federation of Teachers (AFT) will embark on a cross-country, multi-city election bus tour to get out the vote and highlight the pivotal issues facing America this November. The #AFTvotes bus will travel to at least 20 states and 30 cities and towns through Election Day, November. 5. Stops will include the critical battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.
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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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