FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding Trump’s Tariffs and the impact on Nevada’s economy:
Trump’s Tariffs are a direct attack on the workers who power Nevada’s economy: Hospitality workers, construction workers, and agricultural workers. Closing the border, deporting 11 million undocumented workers who help power the greatest economy in the world, and enacting reckless tariffs will blow up our economy and push us into a recession.
We cannot allow that.
Tariffs will jack up the cost of food, housing, and everyday essentials for working families while putting thousands of hospitality jobs at risk. Instead of taking on corporate price gouging, Republicans are choosing to create economic chaos that will make it harder for workers to make ends meet.
Workers in Nevada deserve better. We won’t stand by while Trump threatens workers, immigrant families, our jobs, our wages, and our futures. The Culinary Union will always fight for working families and the good union jobs that make Nevada strong.
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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 90 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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