FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding Station Casinos’ meritless lawsuit against the NLRB:
Station Casinos, whose owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, have recently donated $1.85 million to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, are seemingly trying to manipulate the legal system by joining with corporations hoping to find a sympathetic ear in courts that will prioritize corporate interests over the rights of workers.
Across the country, corporate tactics aimed at weakening worker rights and protections are being exposed and dismantled, as most courts have seen through these meritless arguments and rightly rejected them. We expect the same outcome in Station Casinos’ baseless lawsuit.
The fact that Station Casinos’ executive, Phil Fortino, is on the stand this week in the ongoing NLRB trial, and that Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta have been subpoenaed and are slated to testify as part of the General Counsel’s case, is a clear reminder that no one is above the law - not even billionaires. The Fertittas must appear at the ongoing NLRB trial before Administrative Law Judge Amita Tracy because Station Casinos lost its fight to block the order requiring them to testify.
In today's lawsuit, Station Casinos argues that the President of the United States should be able to fire NLRB Board Members and NLRB administrative law judges at the President’s discretion and without cause, giving the President power to appoint people who will carry out their agenda.
The ramifications of such extreme arguments by Station Casinos are unprecedented and dangerous, and the Culinary Union adamantly rejects them.
The NLRB was founded February 1935 and the Culinary Union was charted November 1935. For the past 89 years, the Culinary Union has been stedfast in support of worker’s rights and will remain so, no matter what new tactic corporations come up with to undermine workers who want to organize.
The Culinary Union is committed to affirming the NLRB’s Red Rock decision and will continue to advocate for workers' rights at every level - whether before the NLRB, in a courtroom, in a casino employee dining room, on the public sidewalk, and everywhere the rights of workers are under attack.
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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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