MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Friday, August 9, 2019 at 6:00pm
MEDIA CONTACT:
Michelle Loo ▪ michelle@apalanet.org ▪ (215) 776-0632
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Largest national Asian American and Pacific Islander workers’ group to join Culinary Union to picket Palms
Hundreds of attendees with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO convention will take action in support of casino workers fighting for a fair contract
What: Hundreds of Asian American and Pacific Islander union members, worker rights activists and community allies in Las Vegas for the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO’s 15th Biennial Convention will join Culinary Union members and Palms Casino Resort workers on the picket line. APALA is the largest national labor organization advocating for the rights of AAPI working people by organizing together with unions and AAPI communities.
When: Friday, August 9, 2019 at 6:00pm
Where: Palms Casino Resort (4321 West Flamingo Road Las Vegas, Nevada 89103)
Who: Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Secretary Treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline, APALA Convention attendees, Culinary Union members, Station Casinos & Palms workers.
Why: “APALA is proud to stand with Palms workers who have organized to improve their ability to provide a better life for their families,” said Monica Thammarath, APALA National President. “As the nation’s largest labor organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander workers, it is especially meaningful for us to be here in support of the Culinary Union, a diverse union with 15 percent AAPI membership, and Nevada’s largest AAPI organization.”
Station Casinos always said it would respect the rights of its employees to organize and vote for a union,” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Yet after workers voted to unionize by 84% at Palms, the company tried to overturn the elections and are now illegally refusing to negotiate. It's time for the company to sign a contract now!”
The Palms is owned and operated by Station Casinos, which is controlled by billionaire Trump donors Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled recently that Station Casinos should cease and desist its refusal to bargain at the Palms. The NLRB is currently seeking to have its orders enforced in the court of appeals while Station Casinos continues to unsuccessfully challenge the democratic unionization majority vote by its employees.
Workers at six Station Casinos’ Las Vegas properties are now unionized and fighting for a contract: Boulder Station (September 2016), Palace Station (March 2017), Green Valley Ranch (November 2017), Palms (April 2018), Sunset Station (June 2019), and Fiesta Rancho (June 2019).
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ABOUT APALA:
Founded in 1992, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers, most of who are union members, and our allies advancing worker, immigrant and civil rights. Since its founding, APALA has played a unique role in addressing the workplace issues of the 660,000 AAPI union members and in serving as the bridge between the broader labor movement and the AAPI community. Backed with strong support of the AFL-CIO, APALA has more than 20 chapters and pre-chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C.
ABOUT THE CULINARY WORKERS UNION LOCAL 226:
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 over 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
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