Culinary Union to go ON STRIKE at Valley Hospital

ONLINETWEET

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: 

Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 6:00am 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088

Culinary Union to go ON STRIKE at Valley Hospital

Workers to walk out, picket, and participate in a civil disobedience on the first day of the STRIKE

Las Vegas, NV -  During #NationalHospitalWeek (May 7-13), Culinary Union members employed at Valley Hospital in the Las Vegas Medical District have set a STRIKE deadline of Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 at 6:00am.

The strike will be 24/7 and the picket line will be maintained from 6:30am-6:30pm daily beginning on May 9. Culinary Union members from the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas will alternate daily solidarity picket shifts by property.

Hundreds of Culinary Union members recently picketed outside of the Valley Hospital on April 24. Video BROLL is available here

WHO:

*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union

*Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union 

*Valley Hospital housekeeping, cooks, cashiers, kitchen workers, and stewards

*Culinary Union members 

WHAT: Culinary Union ON STRIKE at Valley Hospital

WHEN: Tuesday, May 9, 2023

*6:00am: Strike deadline

*6:30am: The strike at Valley Hospital begins as workers walk off the job and picketing on the strike line begins

*11:00am: Program and remarks from Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge and Valley Hospital workers

*5:30pm: Culinary Union members from the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas join the picket line after their shifts

*6:00pm: Civil disobedience in front of Valley Hospital

*6:30pm: Picketing ends for the day 

Wednesday, May 10, 2023: Strike picket line continues 6:30am-6:30pm daily until a tentative agreement on a new union contract is reached.

WHERE: Valley Hospital (620 Shadow Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89106)

WHY:

Culinary Union represents approximately 90 housekeeping, cooks, cashiers, kitchen workers, and stewards at Valley Hospital. 

“Valley Hospital is union busting and is trying to take away good Culinary Union health care and pension from workers. Valley Hospital employees have been unionized for over 40 years and they are essential workers who haven’t had a contractural raise in seven years and they deserve one,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Culinary Union has set a strike deadline of Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 6:00am. Valley Hospital workers are fighting to keep their Culinary Union benefits, pension, health care, and job security - worker will go on strike to protect their good union jobs.”

“I’m willing to go on strike because I’m fighting for my future and my family’s wellbeing,” said Karen Espinoza, a cook at Valley Hospital for 4 years. “I feel very unappreciated by the company - it’s been seven years since we had a raise and the cost of living has gone up, but our wages haven’t. My coworkers and I are united and we are picketing to show that Valley Hospital is UNFAIR. My coworkers and I voted to go on strike and now we are taking the next steps to prepare for a strike by making strike picket signs and now signing up for strike benefits. We aren’t going to give up until we win a strong union contract.”

“I’m fighting to keep my good union benefits, win better wages, and job security,” said Brandy McMorris, a pantry worker at Valley Hospital for 16 years. “I believe that one job should be enough and I am preparing to go on strike because I see the company trying to take away our union benefits and pension and that’s not right. Valley Hospital needs to do the right thing and agree to a good union contract. I call on the community to support us workers on the picket line."

“This contract fight for me is about fairness and I am ready to go on strike,” said Terry Jackson, a EVS tech worker at Valley Hospital for 39 years. “We are overworked, underpaid, and disrespected. We haven’t had a proper raise in years, and we aren’t taking it anymore. This injustice has gone on for too long. We work so hard at Valley Hospital and it’s unfair how they are treating us. I work on the Operating Room - sometimes there are 30 cases in a day, and there are just two of EVS tech workers to turn over all those rooms, clean, and often we don’t have time to take a break. I have less than two years till I’m eligible for retirement and I am fighting for my coworkers and I to have a good union job. Valley Hospital, sign the contract!” 

“I am ready to strike to show Las Vegas that Valley Hospital is treating us unfairly and that’s not right! We deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Brenda Reyes, cafeteria worker at Valley Hospital for 6 years. “I have a 8-year-old son who has a speech delay and I work hard to provide for him, but it’s hard when we haven’t gotten a raise in years. Not having a contract means putting things on hold. I can’t buy a home or get a car because I don’t know what is going to happen and everything at work is insecure. Valley Hospital, this needs to be resolved and stop union busting - it’s disgusting!” 

“I am fighting for my family and my sons to have a better future,” said Charlotte Beverlin, a house cook at Valley Hospital for 10 years. “I am proud to make sure everyone from doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors are fed and taken care of, but what about me and my coworkers? We worked so hard during the pandemic, but now it feels like the company thinks we aren’t essential or important. They treat us like second-class, which isn’t right. I’m prepared to go on strike because my coworkers and I are worthy of better and we are going to fight for what we deserve.”

Valley Hospital has fired 4 Culinary Union members who were leaders in their workplaces, including, Betty Williams, a committee leader and 40-year Culinary Union member. The company also decided to suspend a Culinary Union organizer from the property and interfere with the Culinary Union’s right to access of workers and the unionized workplace.

Facts about Valley Hospital: 

Since 2017, Valley Hospital has made $1.5 billion in revenue and sent over $100 million to its out-of-state corporate office in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In the same time period, Valley Hospital has given its housekeeping and dietary workers $0 in contractual raises. Valley Hospital’s national company, Universal Health Services (UHS), paid its top 5 executives a total of $86 million from 2020 to 2022.

Valley Hospital in Las Vegas is one of the six acute care hospitals operated by UHS in Southern Nevada. Nevada is one of the company’s largest markets, contributing 17% of net revenues and 18% of net income (excluding a one-time provision) in 2022, according to UHS 10-K.

Valley Hospital’s dietary workers and housekeeping workers have not had a raise since January 1, 2016. They did not receive any bonus or hazard pay while they worked on the frontline through the COVID-19 pandemic. At the negotiation table, Valley Hospital initially proposed a $3 per hour wage cut but has since proposed a small raise increase (1.5% from current rates). However, the hospital has also proposed to strip these workers their premium-free union healthcare as well as gutting the union contract by stripping away job security protections.

Valley Hospital’s union-busting actions have led to 32 currently open unfair labor charges against the employer by the Culinary Union at the National Labor Relations Board.   

Aside from the impending strike in Las Vegas, Valley Hospital’s national company Universal Health Services (UHS) has had other significant issues in the past several years:

 *In July 2020, UHS and a subsidiary agreed to pay a combined $122 million to resolve “alleged violations of the False Claims Act for billing for medically unnecessary inpatient behavioral health services, failing to provide adequate and appropriate services, and paying illegal inducements to federal healthcare beneficiaries.” UHS also “entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG), which will remain in effect for five years.” 

*In July 2022, U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Ron Wyden launched an investigation into “abuse at facilities that house children with special needs and mental health issues as well as children from the foster care and juvenile justice systems.” UHS was one of the four companies that received a letter from the Senators requesting information about their residential treatment facilities. The Senators have not yet released the results of their investigation.

*On November 18, 2023, a News 3 camera captured certain footage at Valley Hospital. As described by News 3 in a follow-up report: “Security officers from Valley Hospital, a for-profit hospital, were recorded taking a woman with a walker across the street and leaving her lying on the sidewalk alone outside University Medical Center, a nonprofit, public hospital. The officers walk away back to the Valley Hospital as UMC staff come to her moments later.” Valley Hospital denied it engaged in patient dumping. 

*On January 8, 2023, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the family of a former patient of Centennial Hills Hospital filed a lawsuit alleging the hospital unsafely discharged her, causing her death. The RJ article included a statement from the hospital’s attorney that the hospital “intends to defend itself vigorously in this matter.” 

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 and winning for working families in Nevada for 88 years.

CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226 

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