MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 7am
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union to launch the largest political team in Nevada on Primary Election Day
The Culinary Union 2022 Primary Endorsement Guide
Las Vegas, NV - The Culinary Union will be hosting a canvass launch with the largest political team in Nevada on Primary Election Day. Over the course of the 2022 primary, the Culinary Union ran its largest primary political program to date. The field team, which is the largest in state, has over 120 canvassers who are knocking on 20,000 doors and having tens of thousands of conversations with voters in neighborhoods and in casino/hotel employee dining rooms on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. The Culinary Union also ran a robust and comprehensive political and communications program that included mailers, digital, phone banking, and polling.
On Primary Election Day, the Culinary Union’s political team will launch at 7am and be out in the field mobilizing voters till 7pm.
WHO:
*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union
*Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union
*Culinary Union canvassers
WHAT: Culinary Union’s Nevada Primary Election Day launch
WHEN: Primary Election Day - Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 7am
WHERE: Culinary Union’s John Wilhelm Big Hall (1630 South Commerce Street Las Vegas, Nevada 89102)
NOTE: Culinary Union is requiring facial coverings and/or masks at this time for indoor gatherings.
WHY:
The Culinary Union 2022 Primary Endorsement Guide includes:
Steve Sisolak for Governor, Lisa Cano Burkhead for Lieutenant Governor, Catherine Cortez Masto for Senate, Dina Titus for Congress, Susie Lee for Congress, Steven Horsford for Congress, Fabian Donate for District 10, Lesley Cohen for District 29, Tick Segerblom for Clark County Commission District E, Ozzie Fumo for District Attorney, Nancy Brune for Las Vegas City Council Ward 6, and Pat Spearman for North Las Vegas Mayor.
“We are proud to endorse elected officials and candidates who will fight to protect working families,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “During the last 26 months, there is no other organization in Nevada that has done more to support hospitality workers during the pandemic than the Culinary Union. Going forward we need to elect and re-elect candidates who will continue to champion issues important to workers.”
“Next year, the Culinary Union will face the biggest contract fight we’ve ever had and we have a plan to win for workers, be unified, and continue to build worker power,” continued Pappageorge. “Daily housekeeping, safer working conditions and workloads, a fair IRS TIP Allocation, reigning in inflation and high prices, and ensuring that working people can provide for their families and buy their first homes are all possible when we have candidates in office who will advocate for issues that important to working families.”
The Culinary Union, the largest affiliate of UNITE HERE, the strongest political force in the state, will be mobilizing hundreds of thousands of hospitality workers and immigrant voters during the 2022 political cycle to elect representatives who will fight for Nevadans.
Political canvassers reflect the Culinary Union’s diverse membership, which is majority women and people of color, who are committed to organizing and wining economic and racial justice. As the largest immigrant organization in Nevada, the Culinary Union is proud to have founded the Citizenship Project, which has helped over 18,000 Nevadans become U.S. citizens and new voters since 2001.
The Culinary Union drives turnout in Nevada because our union has worked for nearly nine decades to build worker power and strength. Every political effort draws from the Culinary Union’s 87-years of rich knowledge of effective and precise voter contact, which is rooted in the principle of working people talking to each other about the importance of building collective power through voting.
The Culinary Union’s political program for the 2022 Midterm Elections began in March 2022 and is the largest in the state. The field team, comprised of over 120 guest room attendants, bartenders, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and kitchen workers, spend up to 10 hours a day, 6 days a week (Monday-Saturday) canvassing. The program continues to ramp up for the weeks and days prior to Primary and General Election Day. The field team launches their canvass every day between 9am-9:30am with last knock at 6:00pm. On Primary Election Day, the Culinary Union’s political team will launch at 7am and will be out in the field mobilizing voters till 7pm.
The Culinary Union has consistently run the largest and strongest political program in state and will run an even larger program in the 2022 political cycle. Each cycle, the Culinary Union has surpassed previous political efforts:
*2016: 300 canvassers knocked on 250,000 doors.
*2018: 350 canvassers knocked on 370,000 doors.
*2020: Culinary Union delivered Nevada for Biden/Harris and drove unprecedented turnout with the largest political team statewide. 500 canvassers knocked on 650,000 doors, including half of the Black and Latinx voters in Nevada.
*2022: Over the course of the 2022 primary, the Culinary Union ran its largest primary political program to date. The field team, which is the largest in state, has over 120 canvassers who are knocking on 20,000 doors and having tens of thousands of conversations with voters in neighborhoods and in casino/hotel employee dining rooms on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. The Culinary Union also ran a robust and comprehensive political and communications program that included mailers, digital, phone banking, and polling. On Primary Election Day, the Culinary Union’s political team will launch at 7am and be out in the field mobilizing voters till 7pm.
The Culinary Union urges Nevadans to vote on Primary Election Day: Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
Reminder: Nevada has Same-Day Registration. All eligible voters can register at a Vote Center on Election Day.
2 ways to get ready to vote in the Nevada primary:
*Go to www.nvsos.gov/SOSVoterServices/Registration/Step0.aspx
*Text the word “VOTE" to 4-226-2.
We vote. We win. For our families!
—
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 87 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
###